


Retribution

by Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends



Series: Monsters, Mythicals, and Misfits (Sanders Sides Monster AU!) [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood Loss, Broken Bones, Burns, Crying, Drowning, Fighting, Flirting, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnotism, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Injury, Kidnapping, Kissing, M/M, Mage!Roman, Manipulation, Near Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possible Character Death, Rejection, Seizures, Self-Blame, Sickness, Vampire!Virgil, Villain Deceit Sanders, Violence, Werewolf!Patton, forced transformation, human!logan, suggestive conversation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-05-04 16:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14597295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends/pseuds/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends
Summary: A month has passed since the fall of D.O.M.E. The four misfits are happy, but Virgil Caelius is still on edge. With a warning from an old friend, and ghosts from his past, it's hard not to be. But Virgil is not the only one with a past coming back to haunt him.(Sequel to A Man, a Mage, and Two Misfits)





	1. Prologue

It had been a little less than a month since the fall of D.O.M.E, and Virgil Caelius was slowly getting used to not having to look over his shoulder, to worry about if they were really gone or not. He and his housemates had been the happiest they had ever been in quite some time. Roman continued to take part in theater productions, his current project with the Ekeisdale Theater Company being Newsies. Logan was, well, Logan and continued teaching students the wonders of science. However, he also took on being an advisor of a new club Ekeisdale High School had formed. The Mythical-Human Relations Club. 

Ever since D.O.M.E. had been taken down by Virgil and the others, the mythical community had become more accepted, and several mythicals were more open about who they were. There was quite a shocking amount of young mythicals in the Ekeisdale community, and Thomas, Joan, and Talyn had come to Logan with the idea for a club for humans to learn more about mythicals, and vice versa.

Another change that came to the Ekeisdale community was to the veterinary clinic that Patton worked at. With the rise of mythicals becoming more accepted, non-humanoid creatures started to reveal themselves. So, the veterinary clinic began making adjustments so that they could accomodate mythical creatures, if need be. Patton headed the whole project, eager to help out the creatures as much as possible.

Virgil couldn’t have been happier, but there was one thing that kept nagging him. One thing that kept him wary, even with everything going so well. Remy Dormio’s warning. He had said that Dorian Pravum was planning something, but that was nearly a month ago. Virgil wanted to hope that perhaps Dorian had given up whatever plot he had against Virgil, or that his plan had nothing to do with Virgil in the first place.

But Virgil knew better. He knew how Dorian worked. He was patient, like a snake hiding in the grass. Just waiting for its prey to make a mistake. Then, and only then, would he strike.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peaceful morning in the misfits' household, and an interview. Plus fluff, lots of fluff.

A shrill beeping awoke Roman, and he groaned. His arms instinctively tightened around the weight beside him, silently indicating that he did not want to get up yet. Said weight struggled in his grip, and Roman only held his boyfriend closer to him. An annoyed sigh was heard.

“Roman, I have to go to work, you know this,” Virgil grumbled.

“You’re a history teacher. They’ll probably celebrate if you don’t show up,” Roman pouted, pressing kisses to the icy cold skin of his boyfriend’s neck.

“Yeah, but I also am on the interview committee for the new school counselor. And interviews are today, Ms. Torres won’t be happy if I don’t show up,” Virgil replied, trying not to sigh at the feeling of Roman’s lips against his skin.

“Okay, sure. Whatever. But you can’t escape from the warm embrace of love! You may valiantly try, but none can resist the charms of Roman Silvest- ah!” Roman said, his dramatic proclamation suddenly cut off by Virgil moving faster than he could comprehend. In the blink of an eye, Roman suddenly found himself flat on his back, Virgil straddling his waist and pinning him to the bed.

Virgil was grinning mischievously, his fangs glinting in the low light of his bedroom. Roman’s breath caught in his throat, mesmerised by the beauty of his vampire boyfriend. Sure, Virgil was only wearing plaid purple pajama pants, and a black My Chemical Romance t-shirt, but Roman was fairly certain that he had never looked more gorgeous.

“Consider your charms resisted,” Virgil deadpanned. Roman made an affronted sound.

“I’ve been wounded! How shall I go on?!” he cried, placing a hand over his chest.

Suddenly, a tired and confused squawk was heard from beside the bed. Roman and Virgil glanced over, and saw Hestia in her “nest,” which was really a hoard of things that Hestia had stolen from the various housemates. There was one of Patton’s cardigans, a tie from Logan, one of Virgil’s old hoodies, and a blanket of Roman’s. Her head poked out from beneath Roman’s blanket, and her golden eyes blinked tiredly until she shook the blanket off, and unfurled her wings to fly up to the bed.

Hestia had grown quite a bit in the past month. While previously, she was about the size of a mouse, she was now the size of a small kitten. Which honestly still wasn’t very big, but it was much larger than she had been. Her wingspan was probably about a foot long, and each flap of her wings sent puffs of air at Roman and Virgil.

She landed gracefully on the bed, and then folded her wings in. She ambled over to Roman, and nuzzled his arm in a reassuring manner. A warm, fond expression spread over Virgil’s face as he watched Roman’s familiar, and Roman felt himself falling head-over-heels for Virgil all over again.

“Good morning, Hestia,” Virgil murmured, reaching over and stroking the top of her head, massaging a spot behind her horns that made her purr.

With his boyfriend distracted by his familiar, Roman took the opportunity to try and get the upper hand. His arms snaked around Virgil’s waist, hands running up his back and tugging Virgil down on top of him. Virgil pitched forward, gray eyes flying wide with surprise as his face was now suddenly inches from Roman's.

“Are you sure you need to go to work?” Roman asked, his voice low and sultry. Virgil’s face flushed a light pink, and his lips were parted slightly in shock. Roman leaned up to capture those lips with his own, causing Virgil to make a soft, high pitched sound that sent fire skittering along Roman’s veins.

Roman thought he had finally convinced Virgil not to leave, but a sudden high-pitched and annoyed roar caused them to break apart. They glanced over to see Hestia giving them a disapproving glare, her tail swishing back and forth with annoyance. Virgil huffed out a laugh, while Roman sent a slight pout towards Hestia.

“Well, since all of us can’t jump around and act like an idiot on stage for a living, I need to get up,” Virgil teased, giving Roman a quick peck on the cheek before gently removing himself from the mage’s grip.

“For your information, it’s called acting!” Roman protested, watching as Virgil clambered out of bed and walked over to the closet.

“Right,” Virgil replied, and although Virgil had his back to Roman, he was certain the vampire was smirking.

Virgil became a sudden blur of motion, getting dressed in a matter of seconds. He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it from when it had gotten mussed from such a quick change. Roman’s mouth hung open slightly as he took in his boyfriend’s appearance. He wore a lavender dress shirt, dark purple tie, black sweater, and black dress pants. The outfit was rather casual, but it made Virgil look sophisticated nonetheless.

“Someone’s gotten the hang of dressing trendy,” Roman commented with a smile. Virgil looked down at his outfit with mock disgust and annoyance.

“I blame you entirely,” he huffed.

“You’re welcome,” Roman scoffed. Virgil rolled his eyes and walked over to his desk to retrieve his bag, as well as his black umbrella.

“Well, time to go to school and interview a bunch of people. How Logan roped me into this, I’ll never know,” Virgil sighed. Virgil walked out of the room, and Roman watched him leave with a sigh, flopping back onto the bed.

Hestia let out a soft coo, and cuddled into Roman’s side. The mage smiled, giving his familiar an affectionate scratch behind her horns. Hestia purred, eyes fluttering shut.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to sleep some more until it’s time for musical rehearsal,” Roman yawned, snuggling back into the bed.

* * *

Logan glanced down at his watch impatiently. Where was Virgil? They had twenty minutes until they needed to be at Ekeisdale High School, so that they could begin the interview process.

A sudden kiss on the cheek startled Logan out of his thoughts. He looked over to see soft green eyes peering up at him from behind a pair of glasses.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan murmured, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend. Patton giggled beneath the kiss, cupping Logan’s face with his hands.

“Hello to you too! And stop worrying, I’m sure Virgil will be down soon,” Patton murmured when Logan pulled away. A look of puzzlement came over Logan’s face.

“How did you know that- I wasn’t worrying!” Logan protested. Patton giggled again.

“Logan, you’ve told me about this interview committee thing that you and Virgil are doing at least a couple times now! And yes, you were worrying. Your face gets all cute and scrunched up and frowny when you’re worried. Not that your face isn’t cute all the time, though!” Patton chirped. Logan’s cheeks tinged pink, and he adjusted his tie nervously.

“Patton, I-”

“Oh no you don’t, you are cute!” Patton interrupted.

“But Patton-” Patton silenced him again by putting his finger to Logan’s lips.

“Nope! You’re the cutest!” he insisted. Logan rolled his eyes and grabbed Patton’s wrist, pulling his hand away from his face.

“Patton, the adorable one here is you. Your kind heart, goofy but loveable smile, and your weird little quirks that you have from being a werewolf,” Logan stated firmly. Patton blushed slightly, but determination was still set in his features.

“But you’re cute too! Your passion for your work, the way you care about your students, the way your tongue sticks out when you’re concentrating on something, your- mmph!” Patton was cut off by Logan abruptly pulling him into a kiss. Patton’s eyes flew wide for a moment, but he quickly melted in Logan’s arms, fingers twining into his hair. He was vaguely aware they were moving backwards, Patton’s back eventually hitting the wall. But Patton didn’t care, far too focused on the feeling of Logan’s mouth against his own. His lips tasted like coffee, as well as a hint of the jelly that had been on his toast.

“Why is it whenever I walk into the kitchen, you two are either making out or are about to make out,” a voice huffed, causing Logan and Patton to break apart. Virgil was standing in the doorway, leaning on his umbrella, with his bag slung over one shoulder.

“Well it’s about time,” Logan muttered, reluctantly pulling away from Patton, adjusting his tie as he did so. Patton let out a nervous giggle, smoothing out Logan’s hair from when he had run his hands through it.

“Have a good day at work, sweetheart,” Patton murmured, leaning up to press a kiss to Logan’s cheek.

“Thank you, Patton. See you later,” Logan said, hoping that Virgil didn’t notice how hard he was blushing. But due to the smug grin on his face, Logan was certain that Virgil had noticed.

“Alright lovebirds, break it up. Logan and I have to go,” Virgil teased. Logan rolled his eyes.

“Like you and Roman are any better. I’m sure a certain mage of yours got clingy this morning, hence why you were late coming down,” Logan scoffed. This time, it was Virgil’s turn to blush.

“What- I- shut up! Let’s just go,” Virgil huffed, grabbing Logan by the arm and tugging him out of the kitchen. Patton giggled and gave a small wave to Logan as he was basically dragged out of the house.

* * *

Virgil buried his head in his hands. They had gone through two of the three applicants for the counselor position, and frankly both of them were terrible. The first one had been a short, hot-tempered man that Virgil suspected was a dwarf. His credentials were fine, he just seemed a bit… unpredictable.

The second applicant was a seemingly sweet young woman, but every so often, a forked tail could be seen swishing about, and there seemed to be horns hidden beneath the woman’s curly hair. There was also the fact that she tried to seduce both Virgil and Logan into giving her the job.

“Let’s hope this final applicant isn’t like the other two,” Logan sighed, shuffling through his papers and breaking Virgil from his train of thought. Virgil gave a muffled grunt from beneath his hands.

“I did like how you told that lady off though,” Virgil replied, after a moment of silence.

“Hmm?”

“You told her that ‘unfortunately, my coworker and I are both homosexual and taken, please take your seduction someplace else,’” Virgil said, chuckling lightly.

“It would be highly inappropriate to have a succubus as a school counselor, Virgil,” Logan huffed.

“I know that! But you told her to fuck off in the most respectful way!” Virgil laughed.

“Of course I did. We are supposed to be professionals, after all,” Logan smirked. The two broke into a slight fit of giggles, both covering their mouths to muffle the sound.

A sudden knock on the door broke the two teachers out of their giggle-fest. Both of them immediately schooled their expressions, Logan adjusting his tie, and Virgil fiddling with the ends of his sweater sleeves. Logan glanced at Virgil, and the vampire nodded.

“Come in,” Logan said. The door opened, and a man with vibrant purple hair, glasses, tan cardigan, and pink tie walked in. The man gave a friendly wave, and began to walk into the room. Or at least, he tried to. He stumbled over his own two feet, and nearly face planted into the table that Logan and Virgil were seated at.

“Hi! Sufferin’ succotash… sorry about that, I guess I haven’t quite gotten my land legs yet!” the man said cheerily, sitting down at the table. Logan and Virgil exchanged nervous glances.

“It’s… quite alright. I’m Logan Taylor, and this is Virgil Caelius,” he said, gesturing first to himself, and then to Virgil.

“Well gosh, it’s good to meet the both of you! I’m Dr. Emile Picani,” he replied. Virgil raised an eyebrow. This was sure to be an interesting interview.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Virgil interview Dr. Picani, and Virgil meets a mysterious guest at Ekeisdale High.

Dr. Picani was… interesting, to say the least. If anything, he had enthusiasm. And he was very qualified for the job. After all, the man had a PhD in psychology. There was just one slight problem. Dr. Picani insisted on quoting a cartoon in nearly every breath.

“Dr. Picani… you do realize that this is a high school. You’d be a counselor for teenagers,” Logan pointed out.

“Jinkies, you can just call me Emile! And I’m not a fish out of water when it comes to teenagers, trust me,” Emile said, flashing Logan and Virgil a comforting grin. Logan tried his hardest not to wince at yet another cartoon reference, while Virgil merely raised an eyebrow.

“Why the water references?” Virgil asked. Emile paled slightly, while Logan gave Virgil a confused glance.

“Uh… _water_ you talking about?” he laughed nervously. At that moment, Logan wanted to facepalm, but that would be unprofessional. Even if the interviewee was acting rather unprofessional.

“You made a comment about ‘land legs’ earlier. And just now you said you weren’t a ‘fish out of water,’” Virgil replied. Emile glanced around nervously, refusing to look either Logan or Virgil in the eyes.

“Uh, I- I’m just kind of a goofy guy, I guess!” he laughed nervously. Virgil didn’t look convinced, but Logan gave Virgil a slight glare, silently telling him not to press on the subject. It was clear that Dr. Emile Picani was hiding something, but Logan was confident that he was trustworthy, even if he was a bit… over the top.

“That is quite alright, Dr. Picani. Thank you for your time today,” Logan said, giving the doctor a thin smile. In return, Emile gave Logan a dazzling grin.

“Thank you! I guess th-th-th-that's all, folks!” he proclaimed, giving a cheesy impression of Porky Pig, waving at Logan and Virgil. While he was waving, Logan caught a glimpse of something on his wrist. It seemed to be a bracelet, made out of pale pink and blue seashells. But before he could comment on it, the exuberant doctor had left the room.

“Well that was…” Virgil trailed off, sagging in his chair.

“Interesting. But he is our best candidate,” Logan said. Virgil gave Logan an incredulous stare.

“That guy? Really? I think the short-tempered dwarf would be a better option,” Virgil huffed. Logan’s mouth set into a firm frown.

“Was that a pun?” he asked, his voice low. Virgil snorted out a laugh, covering his mouth as soon as the sound escaped his lips.

“Not intentionally. But come on, Logan. This Dr. Picani was clearly hiding something. What if he’s a siren?” Virgil protested.

“Sirens are supposed to sing about your heart’s deepest desires. Dr. Picani was making puns and wouldn’t stop quoting cartoons. Not really my heart’s wishes,” Logan replied.

“You do realize that you are dating Patton, right?” Virgil smirked. Logan’s face flushed slightly.

“I- um, that’s not the point! And if Dr. Picani really is a siren, then I’m sure you would have heard musical tunes and Disney quotes,” Logan shot back. Virgil rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Okay, so he’s not a siren. But there’s still something weird about that dude,” Virgil muttered.

“I did notice he had a seashell bracelet on. Perhaps he likes the sea? That ‘land legs’ comment could merely have been a reference to a trip to the beach he had taken recently. We very well could be reading into this too much,” Logan pointed out. There was silence for a moment, while Virgil mulled over what Logan had just said.

“Maybe you have a point. Guess I’m just paranoid, as per usual. So we’re gonna hire this guy?” Virgil asked.

“He is our best option,” Logan replied. Virgil let out a sigh.

“I guess you’re right,” he shrugged. Logan nodded, giving Virgil a small smile.

“Very well. I’ll take care of the paperwork and get it to Ms. Torres,” he replied.

“Sounds good to me,” Virgil said, standing up from his chair and stretching. Logan shuffled through the papers on the table, making sure that each document was in its place.

“I’m gonna head to my classroom, if that’s alright with you. See you at lunch?” Virgil asked, beginning to leave the room. He stopped at the doorway, casting a glance back at Logan.

“Of course, Virgil. See you then,” Logan replied, sparing a quick glance up from his paperwork, then focusing back on the pile in front of him. Virgil smiled, then left the room to get ready for the school day.

* * *

The day carried on rather uneventfully, however, Virgil was glad when lunchtime came around. While the morning had been uneventful, it had been quite boring. Then again, Virgil supposed, it was a Monday.

As he walked down the hallway to Logan’s classroom, Virgil hoped that a certain group of misfits would be joining them for lunch. That is, he was hoping to see Thomas, Joan, and Talyn. The trio, by invitation of Logan, would often have lunch with the two teachers. At first it was because they wanted to discuss the Mythical-Human Relations club meetings, seeing as Thomas, Joan, and Talyn ran the club along with Logan. However, now they joined Logan and Virgil for lunch simply because they wanted to.

“Mr. Caelius! Quick question for ya!” Joan asked, once Virgil had entered Logan’s classroom. Virgil raised an eyebrow, setting his bag down as he took a seat at the cluster of desks. It seemed that the three teenagers had once again rearranged Logan’s classroom, something that the science teacher didn’t particularly enjoy. However, having his classroom slightly rearranged to accommodate the five of them was better than the alternative of them not eating together at all.

“Shoot,” Virgil shrugged.

“Okay, so the vampire thing where you can’t see your reflection. Is that true?” Joan asked, leaning forward in their chair. Thomas and Talyn leaned in as well, while Logan rolled his eyes, and shook his head with a fond smile.

“Well… it depends on the mirror. If it’s made with silver, I can’t see my reflection. But if it’s made with a different metal, I can see myself just fine,” Virgil replied. Thomas and Joan immediately slumped back in their chairs, while Talyn smirked.

“You both owe me five bucks,” they said smugly.

“Wait, you guys bet on whether or not I could see my reflection?” Virgil asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

“Yeah, I bet that you couldn’t see your reflection, but Joan was convinced that the whole mirror thing was a hoax,” Thomas sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“And I told them that they were both wrong,” Talyn shrugged. Both Logan and Virgil chuckled at that, while Joan and Thomas gave out various mumbles of frustration.

“So tell me, has anyone heard anything from our undersea friends?” Logan asked.

“You mean Annika and Haven? I haven’t heard anything from them since Annika decided to go back to the ocean,” Thomas replied.

“Yeah, and Haven went with her. Something about wanting to meet aquatic fairies?” Talyn added, glancing at Joan for confirmation.

“Yeah, she also said she wanted to explore the world. Haven was held captive by D.O.M.E. for quite some time,” they said.

“Makes sense,” Virgil shrugged. However, Logan seemed puzzled.

“But how would she go in the ocean and visit the undersea creatures? She’s a fairy, and as far as I’m aware, fairies do need to breathe. And I don’t believe her tiny, delicate form could handle the deep sea pressure,” Logan pointed out.

“Maybe she has water wings?” Thomas grinned. Logan’s lips pressed together in a firm line.

“Or magic. Fairies use magic,” Joan added. A small, frustrated sound escaped Logan’s lips, and he brought one hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Fine. I suppose that makes sense,” he huffed. The teenagers and Virgil broke into laughter, while Logan let out a sigh.

The lunch period continued as normal, with the teens idly chatting with each other, Logan and Virgil occasionally joining in the conversation. Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Thomas, Joan, and Talyn said goodbye to Logan and Virgil, and then Virgil returned to his own classroom.

* * *

The day seemed to drag on slowly, until finally the final bell rang. Students rushed out of the building, leaving Virgil alone in his classroom. He straightened the papers on his desk, debating on staying late and grading them. As much as he didn’t want to, it probably would be better if he started now, rather than waiting until later.

With a sigh, he walked out of his room to let Logan know that he was staying late. Virgil could have just texted Logan this, but he needed an excuse to stretch his legs, as well as put off grading for just a little while longer.

While walking to Logan’s room, he noticed a girl standing in the hallway. She wore a mauve cape coat, black jeans, and black ankle boots. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up into pigtails, her warm brown eyes glancing around frantically. There was something… familiar… about the girl, but Virgil couldn’t quite place it.

“C’mon, Zephyr, where are you?” the girl muttered. Virgil raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to the girl. She didn’t seem to realize he was there.

“Looking for someone?” Virgil asked. The girl jumped, eyes wide. She stumbled backwards slightly, and Virgil put his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Whoa, it’s okay! I didn’t mean to startle you. You just looked a little lost, and I wanted to help you,” Virgil said, giving his best attempt at a reassuring smile. The girl seemed to become more terrified.

“Vampire,” she gasped. Virgil stiffened, self-consciously running his tongue over his fangs, as if he had forgotten they were there. This caused the girl to thrust her hands out in front of her, shielding her face.

“Hey, don’t freak out! I may be a little… irritable sometimes, but I’m not gonna-” Virgil’s sentence was cut off as a sudden gust of wind blew him backwards, knocking him off of his feet. He groaned as his back slammed into the ground, trying to discern where that sudden wind came from. They were inside so how… unless…

“A mage?” he wondered aloud, slowly rising to his feet.

“That’s right, vampire,” she spat, hands held out defensively. Virgil sighed.

“Look kid, I’m not gonna hurt you. I don’t hurt anyone,” Virgil explained. A determined frown came over the girl’s face.

“Right. You probably use this school for some sort of sick feeding ground!” she scoffed.

“I’m telling you the truth. Not all vampires are bad, you know,” Virgil shot back. The girl’s eyebrows furrowed, and she took a deep breath.

“Eno degnaf eht nrub, nus fo syar nedlog!” she cried, and a brilliant light formed in her hands. Virgil hissed in pain, dropping to his knees. It felt like his skin was smoldering, and he squinted up at the light before him. Somehow, this girl managed to create sunlight in her hands.

Suddenly, as soon as the sunlight appeared, it faded away. Spots danced in Virgil’s vision, and he could barely stay upright. The girl didn’t seem to be faring much better, as she was leaning heavily against the wall. She managed to get her bearings, and straightened up, holding out her arm. A ball of fluff- which seemed to be a rabbit with wings, unless Virgil was really out of it- flew over and perched on her arm. The girl turned, casting one last glance at Virgil over her shoulder before darting away. Then Virgil fully crumpled to the ground, his vision fading to black.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan takes Virgil home, Roman talks about his past... and who could be knocking at the door?

Logan locked his classroom door, after making sure he had taken care of everything he wanted to accomplish today. He started down the hall to Virgil’s classroom, finding it a little odd that Virgil had not come over to his room. But then again, he probably had something to work on, and had forgotten to tell Logan.

The science teacher was broken from his train of thought when he came across someone sprawled out on the hallway floor. Logan’s heart stuttered, and his breath caught when he realized the figure lying on the floor was Virgil.

“Virgil!” he gasped, immediately rushing to Virgil and kneeling beside him. He had what seemed to be a severe sunburn on his face, neck, and hands. Logan carefully pushed one of his sleeves up, relieved to see that the “sunburn” wasn’t all over his body, just on his face and hands.

“Lo…?” Virgil rasped, eyes slowly peeling open. Logan sighed in relief.

“Virgil, thank goodness. What were you doing in the sun?” he asked, slowly maneuvering his friend into a sitting position.

“Wasn’t- gah!” Virgil cuts off with a pained gasp, as he tried rising to his feet.

“Easy, being exposed to sunlight drained you severely. You’re lucky to be alive,” Logan commented, his voice trembling slightly at the last sentence. He scooped Virgil up into his arms, the vampire too weak to protest.

“No shit, Sherlock. And I was attacked by a mage,” he huffed. Logan nearly lost his grip on Virgil.

“What? Surely not-”

“No, not Roman. This mage was a girl, just some kid,” Virgil cut him off before he could finish. Logan relaxed slightly, shifting Virgil a bit in his arms.

“Let’s get you home. I’m sure Hestia’s tears will be able to take care of those burns,” Logan said. Virgil hummed in agreement, and Logan carried him out of the school building.

* * *

Patton was humming at the stove, stirring a pot of chicken noodle soup. Although Roman wouldn’t admit it, being in musicals tended to take a toll on his voice. So Patton took it upon himself to make soup for dinner, under the excuse that he wanted to try out a new recipe.

His train of thought was interrupted by the door opening. Patton grinned, setting down his ladle. Logan and Virgil must be home! He walked out of the kitchen, and towards the front door. However, his grin quickly slipped off his face and he gasped at the sight before him. Logan was cradling Virgil in his arms, who seemed barely coherent and had terrible burns on his face and hands.

“Virgil?! What happened?” Patton cried, rushing over to them. He brushed Virgil’s hair out of his eyes, who whined in discomfort at the contact. Patton quickly withdrew his hand, looking to Logan with a teary-eyed expression.

“He was attacked by a mage. Can you help me get him to the living room? He’s a lot heavier than he looks,” Logan explained. Patton nodded, and guided them to the living room. He helped Logan lay him down on the couch, trying to keep his hands from trembling.

“Where’s Roman and Hestia?” Logan asked.

“Roman’s still at musical practice… I think Hestia is with him. I’ll call him,” Patton replied, beginning to take his phone out of his pocket. Logan reached out and put a hand on Patton’s wrist, stilling his movements. Patton looked up at him, brow furrowed in confusion.

“I’ll call Roman. Because judging by the cat apron you’re wearing, you left something on the stove,” Logan pointed out. Patton glanced down at himself, then let out a sheepish laugh.

“You’re right, I’ll be right back,” Patton replied, rushing off to the kitchen. He quickly turned off the stovetop, and just in time, seeing as the soup was about to boil over. He walked back to the living room to see that Logan had his phone up to his ear, and he was tapping his foot impatiently. 

“Is Roman not answering?” Patton asked. Logan held his hand up, signaling for Patton to be quiet.

“Roman? It’s Logan, you need to get home as soon as possible. Is Hestia with you?” he asked into the phone. Patton heard some unintelligible, frantic words come from the phone.

“It’s Virgil, he was-” Logan was cut off by a sudden poof of red smoke in their living room. The smoke cleared to reveal Roman standing there with Hestia on his shoulder.

“Virgil,” Roman gasped, kneeling beside him. Hestia scrambled off of his shoulder, and began to cry her golden healing tears onto Virgil’s face.

“Stop wasting your magic,” Virgil rasped. Roman let out a slight hysterical laugh.

“It’s not a waste if it’s for you, my love. What happened?” Roman soothed, running a hand through Virgil’s hair.

“He was attacked by a mage, apparently,” Logan piped up. Roman’s eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder at Logan.

“A mage?! Who were they, what did they look like?” Roman asked frantically, looking back to Virgil. Virgil winced at Roman’s loud tone, causing Roman’s expression to soften.

“Sorry, let’s just get you healed up first,” Roman murmured, dropping a kiss to Virgil’s forehead. Roman stood up, and looked over to Logan and Patton.

“You think you know the mage behind it?” Logan asked softly.

“There’s only one mage family that hates vampires, Logan,” Roman replied.

“How do you know? They could have been a rogue mage,” Patton piped up.

“Maybe, but only one family knows the spell that could have done this to Virgil. Mine,” Roman declared gravely.

* * *

Virgil faded in and out of consciousness as Hestia healed him. He was vaguely aware of voices, someone running a hand through his hair every so often, and a slight shift in scenery. Someone had changed him into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and he now seemed to be in his room.

The sound of something being set on his bedside table caused Virgil’s eyes to flutter open. He glanced over to see Patton setting down a steaming bowl of something on the table.

“Pat?” Virgil asked, his voice sounding dry and rough. Patton jumped at the sound of Virgil’s voice, but a relieved smile quickly spread over his face.

“How are you feeling, kiddo?” Patton asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. Virgil slowly sat up, despite Patton’s gasp of protest.

“Patton… I’m like, two centuries older than you. I don’t think I’m your kiddo. And I’m okay,” Virgil replied. He took a look down at his hands, which seemed a bit raw and pink, but otherwise alright. At least they weren’t severely burned anymore.

“What do you mean, you’re not my kiddo?!” Patton cried, a look of hurt crossing over his face.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that… of course I’m your kiddo,” Virgil backpedaled. Patton gave Virgil a soft smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s alright! I’m just glad you’re okay. Do you want me to get Roman?” he asked. Virgil nodded, and Patton gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room.

A few moments later, Roman burst into the room, Hestia perched on his shoulder. Patton and Logan were standing behind him, and Virgil felt his cheeks heat up at all of the attention he was receiving. Roman walked over to Virgil, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out and tenderly cupped Virgil’s cheek with his hand.

“How are you holding up?” Roman asked.

“I’m fine, just…” Virgil trailed off as he met Roman’s warm brown eyes, soft and filled with concern. It suddenly hit him why the girl was so familiar to him. Her eyes were the same brown hue as Roman’s.

“Virgil?” Roman murmured, brow furrowing with concern.

“The mage… she had your eyes,” Virgil gasped. Roman’s face went pale.

“I knew it. I knew my family was behind this. What did she look like?” Roman asked, his voice hushed.

“She had light blonde hair in pigtails and eyes like yours. I don’t think she was all that old, I did mistake her for a student. And I think she had a familiar. It looked like a winged rabbit, but I could be wrong. I wasn’t fully coherent at the time,” Virgil explained.

“Nova,” Roman gasped. Patton and Logan exchanged confused glances, while Virgil frowned.

“Who?” Virgil asked.

“My sister. I haven’t seen her in years… what is she doing in Ekeisdale?” Roman wondered.

“I wasn’t aware you had a sister,” Logan commented. Roman sighed, eyes downcast.

“I more or less cut ties with my family when I went off to college. I wanted to be in the world of humans, and even though my parents didn’t approve of it, they let me do so. You see, mages tend to look down on humans. Or anyone who isn’t a mage, really. And when I got so attached to the human world… they basically told me to choose my family or my passion,” Roman confessed softly.

“You gave up your family… for the human world? For us?” Virgil asked softly. Roman gave a sad smile, and nodded.

“I didn’t really get along with my family anyhow. Nova was the only one that seemed to understand me… but I guess she’s changed now. I suppose we both have,” he replied. Hestia let out a soft coo of sympathy, and Virgil’s heart threatened to tear in two at Roman’s downcast and forlorn expression.

“Then we’ll be your family, Roman,” Patton said determinedly. Roman visibly perked up, tears glistening in his eyes.

“Really?” he asked timidly. Patton smiled warmly, and walked over to Roman, leaning down and pulling the mage into a firm but comforting hug.

“Really,” Patton murmured. Roman grinned, even as tears trailed down his face, and hugged Patton tightly. A slight smile wormed its way onto Virgil’s face, and he scooted closer to Patton and Roman on the bed, tentatively wrapping his arms around them. Roman moved one arm from Patton to pull Virgil closer, and Patton did the same. Virgil glanced up at Logan, who was standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

“Logan, you better get over here and hug us,” Virgil said mock-threateningly. Logan let out a light chuckle, and climbed onto the bed, putting his arms around the three of them.

The four of them- and Hestia, of course- stayed in that embrace for what seemed like ages. That is, until they heard a sudden knocking come from downstairs, at the front door. Logan frowned, and pulled away from the hug. They all slowly disentangled, watching as Logan slowly got off the bed. The knocking was heard again, and they all exchanged confused glances.

“None of you were expecting anyone tonight, were you?” Logan asked.

“Not that I know of,” Virgil replied, shrugging.

“Maybe Thomas and the other kiddos decided to drop by?” Patton pondered. Silence settled between them, and the knocking came again, louder.

“Whatever the case, it seems urgent. I’ll go down and see who it is,” Logan said, walking out of Virgil’s room, then down the stairs and towards the front door. Patton followed after him, while Roman and Virgil stayed in his room for a moment.

“It’s probably nothing to worry about,” Roman said. Virgil didn’t reply. It couldn’t be a coincidence, that he got attacked and now someone was very urgently knocking at the door.

Suddenly, the sounds of shouting came from downstairs. Roman and Virgil exchanged panicked glances, then quickly scrambled off the bed, out of Virgil’s room, down the stairs, and to the entryway. They were greeted by the sight of Logan standing protectively in front of Patton, glaring at two women now in their house. Virgil’s blood froze when he realized one of them was the girl who attacked him earlier. The other woman’s face was impassive, but her steely gray eyes glittered with determination. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into an intricate bun, and she wore a deep red cloak over a long-sleeved gray tunic, black slacks, and brown lace-up boots.

“Roman. We need to talk,” she said coldly, her gaze flickering between Logan, Patton, and Virgil, before finally landing on Roman. He swallowed nervously, closing his eyes briefly before meeting the woman’s gaze.

“Hello, mother.”


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman reunites with his mother and sister, but they don't come bearing good news... or good intentions.

Eris Silvestri. Possibly the most powerful fire mage the world had ever known. And she had taught Roman everything he knew. Some of his earliest memories were of his mother, smiling and making small flames dance along her fingertips, to little Roman’s delight. She had told him that one day, he’d be a powerful fire mage too, perhaps even more powerful than herself. But all that changed when Roman became fascinated with the human world.

“Roman, humans are a mess. Why would you want to be out there, when you have magic here?” she had said. And for some time, that was enough to convince Roman. But as he grew older, the human world became far too alluring. So, with the reluctant approval of his family, Roman was allowed to immerse himself among other humans. He went to college, and met Logan, Patton, and Virgil. He realized that the human world wasn’t as awful as his mother had made it out to be. So when he finished up with college, and told his family that he wanted to stay among humans, they were horrified.

“You must be joking! Humans don’t have magic, what could possibly be so wonderful about them?” his mother had said when Roman had returned home for a brief time. Roman had explained to his mother that it was more than just humans, that there were other monsters and mythical creatures out there, but that had only made her angrier.

“Please, Roman, get your head out of the clouds. Monsters are dangerous, especially vampires. Now enough of this nonsense, it’s us or them,” she had replied. And Roman, though it pained him to do it, turned his back on his family. He moved in with Logan, Patton, and Virgil, and hadn’t seen his family since.

“Roman. How good it is to see you again,” his mother said, snapping Roman out of his thoughts. She held her arms out, as if expecting a hug, and anger twisted in Roman’s gut.

“You think I’d just run back to you? After how things ended?” Roman scoffed. Her arms fell to her sides, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Surely you’ve missed magic, Roman. You’ve been playing human for some time now,” she crooned, her voice condescending. Roman’s mouth twisted into a frown.

“I gave up on our family. Not magic,” he shot back. Hestia, who had been perched on his shoulder, chirped in agreement. 

“Is that… your familiar?” Nova gasped, speaking up for the first time. There was an excited gleam in her eyes, and Roman felt a sudden wave of nostalgia. He remembered the days where he and Nova would speculate excitedly about what their familiars would be. He remembered being so excited for Nova when she found her familiar, a winged white rabbit named Zephyr.

“Yes, this is Hestia, the phoenix dragon. And I never would have found her if I hadn’t decided to live in the human world,” Roman said, smirking at his mother. His mother sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Yes, well, congratulations. But enough is enough Roman, it’s time to come home,” she replied coldly.

“Why?! After all these years, why now?! I have a life here, I have friends, I have love,” Roman declared, first gesturing at Logan and Patton, then softly looking to Virgil. Virgil gave him a small smile, and reached out to entangle his fingers with Roman’s.

A sudden gasp from Nova snapped his gaze away from Virgil. She leapt in front of their mother, hands held up defensively at she stared at Roman and Virgil in shock.

“You’re dating a vampire?!” she cried, eyes wide with horror.

“What?” his mother gasped.

“Mom, this is the vampire that was at Ekeisdale High School! I didn’t recognize him until now,” Nova explained, watching Virgil warily. Roman’s mother frowned.

“I thought you said you took care of that vampire,” she said, her tone dangerously low. Nova winced, her cheeks tinging pink with embarrassment.

“Well… the sunlight spell took a lot out of me, and I didn’t really stick around to make sure that it had worked,” Nova admitted sheepishly. Roman’s mother closed her eyes, and let out a sigh.

“Why are both of my children such a disappointment,” she muttered. Nova visibly flinched at their mother’s tone of voice, and Roman felt anger flare in him once more. Sure, Nova had nearly killed Virgil, but she was only acting by their mother’s example. She didn’t deserve to be treated in such a way.

“Roman’s not a disappointment! Your son is one of the most amazing people I’ve met! And I’m sure your daughter is wonderful too! Even if she tried to kill Virgil…” Patton declared, sending a determined glare towards Roman’s mother.

“Stay out of this, wolf,” she spat. Patton flinched, and a look of hurt crossed over his face. Logan put a protective arm around Patton, and glared at Roman’s mother.

“Don’t talk to him like that,” he snarled. Roman’s mother rolled her eyes.

“Oh, a human. I’m so scared,” she scoffed.

“Mother, either state why you suddenly want me back after all these years, or leave,” Roman growled.

“Your father is dead, Roman!” she cried, and the room fell dead silent. Roman’s face paled, and his eyes widened. His father, Orion Silvestri, was a wind mage, and quite a skilled one at that. He was the one that had convinced his mother to let him go into the human world.

“No,” Roman gasped, hands trembling. Virgil gave his hand a comforting squeeze, but he barely noticed.

“Yes, Roman. He was killed by a vampire. Like the one you’re so infatuated with,” she shot back, but her voice didn’t have quite the bite it had before. There were tears in her eyes, and for a fraction of a second, Roman felt sorry for what he said. But that feeling was fleeting.

“It’s terrible what happened, but we can’t just take the actions of one vampire and apply it to all of them! Virgil, though he can be bitter and sarcastic at times, is kind, and cares so much about others, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He’s strong, and smart, and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else in the world,” Roman declared. Virgil ducked his head and blushed at the praise, but didn’t verbally protest.

“I was afraid something like this would happen. I never thought it would be a vampire that you’d get so attached to, but here we are. Roman, I’ll give you three days to come to your senses. Nova, stay here and make sure he doesn’t try and do something foolish, like run away,” she ordered.

“What?! But Mom-”

“Stay. Here,” she cut Nova off, her voice cold and firm. And with that, Roman’s mom snapped her fingers, and vanished with a puff of red smoke. The others turned to look at Nova, and she seemed to shrink in on herself.

“I… um…” she trailed off awkwardly, starting to step backwards.

“Nova, hold on a minute,” Roman said, holding up a hand and signalling for her to stop. She froze, swallowing nervously. A white ball of fluff poked out from her mauve cloak, and it took Roman a minute to realize that it was Zephyr, her familiar. The winged rabbit nuzzled her cheek affectionately, and Roman watched for a moment before turning to his friends.

“What do we do?” Logan asked, eyeing Nova warily.

“We can’t just make her leave!” Patton protested.

“She tried to kill me, or did you forget?” Virgil replied bitterly.

“She was only doing what she was raised to do… maybe we should give her a chance,” Roman pointed out.

“Okay, so we let her stay. But what about you? What are you going to do?” Logan asked, raising an eyebrow. Roman stared at the ground awkwardly, not meeting the others’ gazes for a moment.

“I- I don’t know. I’m not sure if there’s any way I can convince my mother that the human world isn’t bad,” Roman replied, his voice solemn.

“Well, maybe we can start with your sister!” Patton said cheerfully. Roman and Virgil exchanged confused glances, while Logan’s face lit up.

“That’s worth a shot. If both Roman and Nova were to talk to their mother about the human world, it would make a more compelling argument,” Logan agreed. Roman nodded, the beginnings of a smile creeping onto his face. Virgil, however, didn’t seem convinced.

“So that’s it? We’re just gonna let her stay?” Virgil asked incredulously.

“I’m not sure if we entirely have a choice in the matter. Besides, I’d hate to think what my mother would to if she found out that Nova didn’t do as she said,” Roman pointed out. Virgil cast a wary glance over at Nova, who stood a few feet away from them, respectfully giving them space to talk. He sighed, and looked back to Roman and the others.

“Okay, fine. I don’t like it, and I definitely don’t trust her, but she can stay,” Virgil huffed. Roman gave Virgil a soft smile, and gave Virgil a quick peck on the cheek.

“Thanks darling. I promise we’ll get this figured out,” Roman murmured. Virgil gave him a thin smile in response. With that, the four of them turned to Nova, who seemed like she wanted to fade from existence. 

“Look, I know you don’t want me here, just-” 

“Hey, none of that! You might have been a bit hostile earlier, but we don’t turn people away! Now, you must be hungry. Want some soup?” Patton interrupted her, beaming and practically radiating care and affection. Nova blinked, unsure of how to respond for a moment.

“I… um… sure?” she replied, fidgeting with her cloak slightly.

“Great! Logan, Virgil, how about you help me in the kitchen?” Patton asked, although he didn’t give either man the chance to reply. He grabbed Logan and Virgil by their arms, and more or less dragged them to the kitchen. A small, fond but nervous smile crept onto Roman’s face. He looked to Nova, and a thick, nearly tangible silence settled between the siblings.

“You still wear your hair in pigtails,” Roman said fondly, breaking the silence.

“Yeah. So a phoenix dragon, huh?” Nova asked. Hestia perked up on Roman’s shoulder, peering at Nova with slight distrust.

“Yup. She was being held captive by an organization called the Department of Mythical Extermination, or D.O.M.E. I found her when Virgil, Patton, and I got kidnapped by them,” Roman explained. Nova’s eyes widened.

“You got kidnapped?!” she exclaimed. 

“Yes, it’s a bit of a long story. They found a way to repress my magic, and they nearly killed me and who knows how many other mythicals. But thanks to my friends and a group of teenagers, we brought down D.O.M.E. Now all mythicals are safe,” Roman replied. Nova seemed to be frozen in shock and awe for a moment before speaking up again.

“That’s…” she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

“I know. Anyway… what happened to Dad?” Roman asked softly. Nova’s shoulders slumped, and she stared down at her feet.

“He was coming home from a solo expedition. There were some ancient mage scrolls he was hoping to uncover. But-” Nova’s voice choked off into a sob, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Roman shoved aside the distance and betrayal he felt from his family, and reached out to pull Nova into his arms. She clutched at his red jacket, burying her face into his chest. Zephyr, her familiar, nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Even Hestia, who seemed wary of Nova, let out a concerned coo.

“They murdered him, hunted him like he was an animal. They destroyed the scrolls… our family is in disarray,” Nova sobbed. Roman felt a lump growing in his throat. His father had always been highly supportive of him, but there was no denying that their father and Nova had an extremely close bond. Seeing as Nova took more to wind than to fire, it was only natural.

The Silvestri siblings stood in an embrace for some time, until Nova pulled away, rubbing at her eyes. She took a deep breath, then fixed Roman with an angry but heartbroken glare.

“I just… I don’t understand. How could you be with one of them?!” she hissed. Roman flinched, taken aback.

“Nova, please. Vampires and other monsters and mythicals aren’t the horrible things that Mom and everyone else in our family say they are! I know what happened to Dad is inexcusable, but we can’t assign the acts of one to a whole,” Roman protested.

“But-”

“Trust me, Nova. You haven’t lived among them for as long as I have. Will you give them a chance? For me?” Roman pleaded. Nova seemed conflicted, but with the combined puppy-eyed gazes of her brother and his familiar soon crumbled her resolve.

“Okay. I’ll get to know them, or whatever. But you still have to come back with Mom and I. At least for Dad’s funeral,” Nova replied, her voice firm. Roman grinned, and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you, you won’t regret it,” Roman promised.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova seems to be fitting in well, and all seems fine. Until Virgil sees an unexpected face at lunch.

Despite everything, Nova seemed to fit in well. For the first night, at least. Roman let her crash in his room, since Roman tended to sleep in Virgil’s room. Patton seemed to take a liking to Nova immediately, giving the wind mage enough care and attention to last several lifetimes. Even Logan seemed okay with Nova, though that could have been more his fascination with the world of mages than anything else. But Virgil was still wary.

The next morning, Virgil quietly crawled out of bed. Roman was still fast asleep, and Virgil was happy to let him sleep longer. The events of the previous night clearly had quite the emotional toll on him, and Virgil was certain he could use the extra rest. Though when Virgil got up, Roman’s arm unconsciously reached towards him. Chuckling low in his throat, Virgil leaned down and pressed a kiss to Roman’s forehead. Roman hummed happily in his sleep, and snuggled back down into the sheets. A small, fond smile slipped onto Virgil’s face as he took in the sight of his sleeping boyfriend.

A sudden weight on top of Virgil’s head shook him out of his reverie. He glanced up to see that Hestia had nestled in his hair. She peered down at him with what Virgil could have sworn was a smirk and a knowing look in her eye.

“Shut up,” Virgil grumbled. Her eyes glittered with amusement, and she squawked at him with excitement.

“Shh! Don’t wake him up! He’s been stressed and could use the rest,” Virgil whisper-shouted. Hestia shot him a glare that seemed to say: “And you don’t?” Virgil frowned.

“Just get out of my hair,” Virgil huffed. Hestia hissed and stubbornly clung tighter to Virgil’s hair, causing the vampire to let out a hiss of his own.

“Fine! Stay. Just don’t tug at it like that,” Virgil whispered. The phoenix dragon purred in delight, and loosened her grip on Virgil’s hair. With a sigh, Virgil quickly changed into a black cardigan, purple button up shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a teacher. Then I wouldn’t have to dress up all the time,” Virgil muttered. Hestia cooed, her tone disinterested with a hint of impatience.

“What are you whining about?” Virgil asked, walking out of his room and down the stairs. Virgil heard a rumbling sound, which he soon realized was coming from Hestia’s stomach.

“Oh, so you’re only clingy because you’re hungry?” Virgil chuckled, heading towards the kitchen. However,  he paused when he came to the dining room, seeing that someone was seated at the table. It was Nova, whose warm brown eyes flew wide when she saw Virgil. An awkward silence settled between the two. What did one say to their boyfriend’s sister who had tried to murder them the day before?

“You have a dragon in your hair,” Nova blurted. Well, that answered that question.

“Not by choice,” Virgil replied coldly. With that, he walked into the kitchen, and opened the fridge. He grabbed a container of blueberries, and set them on the counter. Hestia immediately flew from his hair, and dove headfirst into the container.

“Well, I guess no one else is getting blueberries. Are you happy with yourself?” Virgil mock-scolded. Hestia gave him a smug look, and burrowed herself further into the blueberry container. Despite what one would think, dragons really liked fruit. Or at least, Hestia did. She loved any and every kind of fruit, in any form. Virgil just hoped she wouldn’t get into Logan’s not-so-secret jam stash anytime soon. 

“She… really likes blueberries,” a voice piped up from behind Virgil. He jumped and whirled around to see Nova standing behind him. Zephyr was perched on her shoulder, his nose twitching with curiosity.

“Geez kid, didn’t hear you come in,” Virgil chuckled nervously. Nova blushed slightly, and nervously twirled the end of one of her pigtails.

“Sorry! Wind mages are light on their feet, I guess,” she replied, shrugging. A thin smile came to Virgil’s face, and he glanced back at Hestia. She had made her way through about half of the blueberry container, and was looking pretty pleased with herself.

“Uh… is your familiar hungry? I’m not sure if we have any carrots… do winged rabbits eat carrots?” Virgil asked, rambling slightly. Nova laughed, though it sounded a little forced.

“Zephyr will eat just about anything, trust me. Most fruits and veggies are his favorite,” she said.

“Well, I would offer blueberries… but I’m not sure if Hestia would be willing to share,” Virgil said, sending a half-hearted glare towards the phoenix dragon, who was still burrowed inside the container, snacking on blueberries. She poked her head out, and glanced between Virgil and Zephyr. After a moment of consideration, she gave an inviting squawk.

“Huh. Guess she’s cool with sharing,” Virgil said, blinking in surprise. Zephyr perked up, spreading his wings and leaping off of Nova’s shoulder. His wings were gorgeous, a snowy white that shifted to an ashen gray at the tips. Virgil noticed that unlike a typical rabbit, Zephyr had a long white tail that had a fluffy gray tip.

He landed gracefully, his claws clacking on the counter. Zephyr’s wings folded to his sides, and he shyly crept closer to Hestia and her blueberries. She picked up a blueberry with her claw, and tossed it at Zephyr. It landed at his paws, and he sniffed at it curiously before eating it. Hestia tossed more blueberries at him, and Zephyr gobbled them up.

“Aww! I was planning to use those blueberries for pancakes this week, but this is much cuter!” a voice squealed from behind them.

“Good morning, Patton,” Virgil chuckled, smirking at Nova’s surprised expression.

“Morning! How’d you kiddos sleep?” he asked, stepping past Nova to the coffee machine.

“Fine,” Virgil replied.

“Pretty good, I guess,” Nova shrugged.

“Good!” Patton chirped, starting the coffee. A somewhat awkward silence settled in the kitchen, until Logan walked in. He chose to dress a bit more casually today, wearing a navy blue sweater vest over a black button up shirt, along with khakis and black dress shoes.

“Good morning, everyone,” Logan said, walking over to the cupboard and getting out a mug.

“Morning Lo!” Patton sang, green eyes sparkling. He practically skipped over to Logan, leaning up and pressing a light kiss to his lips. Logan smiled softly at Patton, then walked over to the coffee machine.

The morning continued amicably, with idle conversation while waiting for the coffee to brew. Patton made sure that Logan and Virgil ate something before leaving for work, and made sure that Nova ate breakfast as well. Virgil was a little uneasy with how easily Nova just seemed to fit in their life, but brushed the thoughts aside as he and Logan left for Ekeisdale High School.

* * *

The morning was thankfully uneventful, but today’s lunch period was going to be different. While Virgil wanted to do their regular routine of meeting in Logan’s room, and eating lunch with Thomas and the others, Logan insisted that it would be a kind gesture if they instead met the school’s new counselor for lunch. And yes, while it was the right thing to do, there was just something… off… about Dr. Emile Picani.

“Virgil, you are being paranoid,” Logan reprimanded gently. The two of them were walking to the counseling office, and Virgil’s nervousness was practically tangible.

“There’s just something weird about him, okay?” Virgil huffed.

“You could say there’s ‘something weird’ about yourself, Virgil,” Logan pointed out. Virgil frowned, glaring at Logan. The science teacher merely shrugged in response. Virgil sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Okay fine, maybe you have a point,” Virgil grumbled.

“Point about what?” a cheery voice from behind them piped up. Virgil jumped, whirling around to see Dr. Picani standing behind them.

“I- uh…” Virgil trailed off.

“Virgil and I were debating on where to go for lunch. I suggested that it may be the best course of action to let you choose, Doctor,” Logan replied smoothly. Virgil internally sighed in relief. Thank goodness for Logan’s quick thinking.

“Aw, well that’s sweet of you guys! And you can just call me Emile!” he said, smiling brightly.

“Oh. Cool. So Emile, did you have anywhere in mind?” Virgil asked. Emile frowned in thought for a moment, then smiled and spoke up again.

“Well, I saw this cute little cafe called Jack’s Magic Beans on the way to work this morning!” he suggested. The place sounded vaguely familiar to Virgil, he had overheard students and probably Roman chattering about it. It was a fairly new cafe in town, known for its coffee and freshly baked bread, which supposedly was made with beans in it.

“Sounds good to me,” Virgil shrugged.

* * *

The cafe was fairly busy when Logan, Virgil, and Emile arrived there. However, they did manage to snag a table. Virgil offered to stay at the table while Logan and Emile ordered, and although Logan looked reluctant to leave Virgil alone, Virgil more or less forced Logan to get in line, saying that he’d be fine by himself. So Virgil sat alone at the table, idly toying with the ends of his sleeves when someone suddenly plopped themselves into the seat beside Virgil.

“Uh, this seat is taken,” Virgil said, turning to glare at the person beside him. However, when he saw who it was, his heart leapt into his throat.

“Girl, I’ll only be a minute. We need to chat,” the man said, sipping at what appeared to be coffee, but Virgil knew better from the smell.

“Remy, you’re drinking blood from a coffee cup?” Virgil hissed. The winged vampire shrugged, taking another sip.

“I’m just trying to blend in!” Remy protested.

“Blend in?! You have wings!” Virgil whisper-shouted.

“As long as I keep them folded in, most people assume it’s part of my jacket. Humans are suuuper gullible. But I didn’t come to talk blending in tactics,” Remy replied.

“You found something out about what Dorian is up to?” Virgil asked.

“No. But he’s in Ekeisdale,” Remy said. Virgil’s stomach dropped.

“What?” he gasped.

“Yeah. Virgil, you need to leave this place behind. I know you have people, or whatever, but…” Remy trailed off, nervously adjusting his sunglasses.

“I can’t just up and leave! Especially now. Some stuff came up with Roman’s family… I can’t abandon him,” Virgil replied softly.

“Have you told him yet? That you think he’s your-”

“No,” Virgil interrupted firmly.

“Girl,” Remy drawled.

“Shut up. You really don’t have any idea what he’s up to?” Virgil asked.

“No. But Virgil… just be careful. Dorian’s had decades to plan his revenge. If I were you, I’d get as far away from here as possible. Start over again,” Remy said, taking a sip of his “coffee”.

“But-”

“I know, you found a family and life here. But what’s the point of it if Dorian just snatches it away?” Remy cut him off. Virgil opened his mouth to reply, but Remy got up and left before he could think of anything to say. He shut his mouth, staring numbly at the table. Remy was right. What was the point of his life is Dorian just took it away? At least if he left, it would be by his choice. But how could Virgil leave his family behind?


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Nova are at the theatre, but there is a danger that lurks within. Will anyone be able to save them?

Roman idly hummed “Santa Fe” as he tidied up the stage and backstage areas. Today had been a rather long rehearsal, but it had been worth the work. Plus, he finally was able to show Nova one of his favorite things about the human world. Theatre.

“So… you basically subject yourself to immense pressure and sing and dance in front of a bunch of people?” Nova asked as she helped Roman with putting away props.

“Yeah! Isn’t it amazing?!” Roman exclaimed, gesturing dramatically and nearly toppling a pile of newspapers to the ground. Nova rushed forward, quickly catching the flyaway newspapers before they hit the floor.

“Sure, if you aren’t an anxious mess,” Nova muttered.

“Oh come on, it’s fantastic when the show finally comes together! You haven’t seen anything yet!” Roman exclaimed.

“If you say so,” Nova sighed. The pair of siblings continued to tidy up in a relative but comfortable silence. Soon, everything was in order and all Roman had to do was shut off the lights, then lock up, while Nova grabbed Hestia and Zephyr from the theatre’s office. However, when he made his way to the control booth, someone was inside.

“Huh. I thought we were the last ones here,” Roman murmured to himself as he made his way inside. The man standing inside had his back to Roman, and he was fairly certain that he had never seen him before. He was oddly dressed, wearing a black cloak with yellow trim, yellow gloves, and a black bowler hat. When he turned, he had eyes that seemed to be made of liquid gold.

“Oh, apologies. I must have gotten turned around,” the man said, his voice just as smooth and molten as the color of his eyes. He gave Roman a soft smile, revealing dangerously sharp fangs.

“You’re… not supposed to be here,” Roman said, frowning when his voice didn’t come out as stern as he wanted it to be.

“Am I? Interesting,” the man replied, his golden eyes boring into Roman’s brown ones. Roman found himself unable to look away.

“Yeah… I’m- I’m closing up,” Roman said, confused as to why his voice was trembling. This was fine… everything was fine.

“Oh, I see. Roman, you look positively exhausted,” the man said, a look of sympathy overcoming his face.

“I- yeah… I am,” Roman agreed, but a small voice in the back of his head protested, causing Roman’s brow to furrow in confusion.

“Wait, how did you-” Roman’s voice suddenly cut out, and his eyes flew wide in a panic as he found himself unable to speak. The other man’s face twisted into a frown, but his golden eyes glittered dangerously.

“Oh, you poor dear. Losing your voice! How about you go to sleep, darling,” the man crooned, and Roman knew nothing but darkness.

* * *

Nova walked out into the auditorium, having retrieved both Hestia and Zephyr from the theatre’s office. She frowned as she saw that the stage lights were still on. Wasn’t Roman supposed to shut them off? Zephyr wrinkled his nose, and his claws started to dig into the fabric of Nova’s jacket. Hestia seemed distressed as well, her head whipping around, trying to spot her mage.

“Easy guys, I’m sure Roman is just having some technical difficulties…” Nova trailed off when Hestia’s frantically traveling gaze suddenly snapped to the control booth. She suddenly burst out of Nova’s arms with tiny roars of distress.

“Hestia?!” Nova exclaimed in confusion. Then it dawned on her… something had happened to Roman. She quickly followed after the dragon, throwing the door open to the control room. What she saw caused her heart to stutter in her chest. A man dressed all in black stood in the center of the room, Roman hanging limply from his arms.

“Roman!” Nova cried, the sound of her voice causing the man’s head to snap up. His eyes were a molten gold, blazing and dangerous. He opened his mouth to say something, but Hestia flew at his face with a ferocious hiss, plumes of fire flying from her mouth. The man cursed and dropped Roman, shielding his face. Nova quickly knelt at her brother’s side, sighing in relief when he just seemed to be unconscious.

Hestia suddenly flew past her head, the man having batted the dragon away. She slammed into the wall, and Nova’s face twisted into a determined scowl. She shot to her feet, standing protectively over Roman and his familiar.

“Stay the hell away from my brother, whoever you are!” she snarled. The man merely raised an eyebrow at her statement.

“Brother, hm? This just got more interesting,” the man growled. Nova raised her hands, causing wind magic to swirl around her. Before the man could say anything else, she sent a powerful gust of wind at him, causing him to fly backwards. He crashed through the windows of the control booth, falling to the auditorium below. 

“Didn’t really mean to send him through the window. Whoops,” Nova commented, blinking in surprise. She looked down at Roman, who was still passed out, then glanced over at Hestia. The phoenix dragon slowly began to stir, and Nova’s shoulders slumped in relief. She knelt down beside her, scooping Hestia into her arms. Hestia shook herself off, looking up at Nova and cooing in concern.

“I’m fine. Do you think you can fly and get help?” Nova asked. Hestia nodded determinedly, spreading her wings and taking off. Nova glanced over to her shoulder, where Zephyr was still perched.

“You go too. I’ll stay here with Roman,” Nova said. Zephyr’s ears drooped, his claws digging into her coat, to the point where it hurt.

“I’ll be fine, go!” she insisted. Zephyr looked conflicted, but quickly leapt off of Nova’s shoulder, flying away.

“Are you sure about that?” a voice crooned from behind Nova. She whirled around, shocked to see the man from before almost completely unscathed.

“Dude, I threw you out of a window!” Nova exclaimed, gathering her wind magic around her again.

“Yes, that was rather irritating. Now what to do with you? I don’t really have a need for you… and I have been curious as to the taste of mage blood,” the man said, grinning maliciously and revealing his deadly sharp fangs. Nova’s stomach plummeted, her face going pale.

“Vampire… I should’ve known,” Nova growled. She held her hands out again, but couldn’t hide the slight tremble in them. What if this vampire was in league with Virgil? What if she was right about Virgil all along? Brushing the thoughts aside, she began to speak the incantation to summon sunlight. 

However, before she could finish it, the man lunged forward and tackled Nova to the ground, clamping a hand over her mouth and grabbing her wrist with his other hand. Nova gave out a muffled cry, desperately trying to squirm out of the man’s grip.

“Such fire in you, my dear. Too bad you’re only a wind mage,” he taunted as he leaned down, breath fanning her neck. Nova’s brow furrowed in determination, and she squirmed in the vampire’s grasp more fervently. She felt fangs beginning to sink into her neck, and in a moment of pure instinct, a splutter of flames sprang from the fingertips of her free hand. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to throw the vampire off a bit.

“What-” he began, but was cut off by Nova kneeing him in the stomach, throwing the vampire off of her. She quickly scrambled to her feet, raising her hands in front of her once more.

“Eno degnaf eht nrub, nus fo syar nedlog!” Nova cried, a small beam of sunlight forming in her hands. It wasn’t as strong as it could have been, seeing as the spell came out in a rush, but it was enough to make the vampire hiss and shield himself with his cloak. 

Nova tried to keep the sunbeam steady, but it was draining her magic quickly, causing its light to flicker. The vampire took notice of this, and lunged at her, sending them both sprawling out of the broken window. The light dissipated from Nova’s hands as they slammed into the ground, her head smacking harshly against the floor of the auditorium. Her vision blurred, and Nova was fairly certain that several things were broken, both in the auditorium and her body. The vampire crouched over her, grinning maliciously despite the burns that now covered half of his face.

“That was quite the show, my dear. But I’m afraid it’s curtains for-”

“ROMAN!” a voice cried from one of the many entrances into the auditorium, interrupting the vampire. Nova just about melted in relief. Hestia and Zephyr had come back with help, and from the sound of it, they had brought Virgil.

“Another time, then,” the man growled, and before Nova could do anything, the vampire darted away with inhuman speed.

* * *

Virgil was certain he had never run faster in his life. When Hestia had flown up to him in a panic when they were returning from lunch, he barely said goodbye to Logan and Emile. And with Remy’s warning… it couldn’t be a coincidence that Roman was in trouble. Dorian had to be behind this.

“ROMAN!” he cried out when he reached the auditorium. He glanced around frantically, spotting a section of the auditorium that seemed to be demolished. He sprinted over, spotting Nova in the center of the wreckage. She looked incredibly battered and weak, and Virgil’s heart clenched in fear.

“Roman… control booth,” she got out, before she broke down into a coughing fit.

“Easy, I’ll get him. Hestia, help Nova,” Virgil ordered, then dashed up to the control booth. His heart plummeted when it was empty, except for one object in the center of the room. A black bowler hat. He crouched down and picked it up gingerly, as if the object was liable to explode. He turned it over in his hands carefully, and noticed a slip of paper sticking out of an inner pocket inside the hat. He pulled it out, stomach twisting into knots as he recognized the elegant handwriting on the paper.

_ Miss me? I believe I have something of yours... _

_ -Dorian Pravum _

Virgil’s hands were trembling. He should have listened to Remy. He should have left. Then Roman wouldn’t have been taken, and Nova wouldn’t be lying out in the auditorium, battered and broken. It was all his fault.

Virgil fell to his knees, clutching the note tightly in hand. His breathing came out in harsh gasps, his heart pounding hard and fast. He should have known better, should have never let himself get attached to other people. He should have known Dorian would come back, should have known he wouldn’t be happy with Virgil because he left the coven. It was all his fault, this was all-

A sudden “poof” from behind him snaps Virgil out of his thoughts. He jumps to his feet, whirling around and daring to hope. He saw a flash of red and his heart soared… until he reached the face of the red-clad individual. It wasn’t Roman, but instead the one of the worst possible people it could have been.

“Where is my son?” Roman’s mother growled. She wore silver gauntlets, her hands held out in front of her and magic humming in the air. Zephyr hovered behind her, looking distressed by the events unfolding.

“I- I don’t know where he is, y-you have to- have to believe me. I- I want to find him too,” Virgil gasped out, voice shaking. He took a step back from Roman’s mother, and she glared at him, mouth set in a firm scowl.

“I’ll ask again. Where. Is. Roman?” she spat.

“I told you- augh!” Virgil’s sentence was cut off by Roman’s mother suddenly springing forward, a hand closing around Virgil’s throat and pinning him to the wall. Virgil gagged, hands scrabbling at her wrist, only to hiss in pain as the silver burned his skin.

“Mom, stop!” a voice called out. The mage’s gaze snapped away from Virgil and over her shoulder. Nova had managed to make her way up to the control booth, and was leaning weakly against the doorframe. Hestia was perched on her shoulder, giving squawks of protest. Zephyr darted over to his mage, nuzzling her cheek in concern.

“Zeph, when I said ‘get help’, I didn’t mean get mom,” Nova murmured to her familiar. Zephyr’s ears drooped, and Nova gave him a reassuring pat on the head, before trying to make her way over to her mother and Virgil. Unfortunately, her knees buckled, and she clutched at her side in pain.

“Nova? What has he done to you?!” she cried out, sending a glare towards Virgil and squeezing his throat tighter. A choked gasp escaped Virgil’s lips, his vision blurring slightly.

“Mom, it wasn’t Virgil! A different vampire abducted Roman and attacked me! If it hadn’t been for Virgil, I would be dead!” Nova pleaded. Her mother glanced between Nova and Virgil, then reluctantly let go of Virgil. He slumped back against the wall, taking in gulps of air while Roman’s mother rushed to Nova’s side.

“I’ll be fine, Roman’s familiar has healing tears. You should be apologizing to Virgil,” Nova said firmly. Her mother drew back from Nova, appalled.

“I will not apologize to a vampire. Now come along, we need to go home and discuss this with the rest of the Silvestri family,” she hissed in reply.

“No,” Nova replied. Her mother raised an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked, her tone dangerous.

“I’m staying here. Someone needs to be here for Roman’s friends,” Nova said determinedly. Her mother scowled, rising to her feet.

“Fine, you impetuous girl, stay. But don’t come crying back to me,” her mother hissed, and with a snap of her fingers, was gone.

“Why did you do that?” Virgil asked, voice hoarse.

“Being with Roman, with all of you… I’ve begun to realize some things. And… you’re more family to Roman than any Silvestri has ever been.”


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil returns home with Nova and Patton comforts them both. Virgil's past is revealed, and Emile has an idea of how to help. Meanwhile, Roman wakes up in an unfamiliar place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this fic universe is nearly one year old! Hopefully I will be able to post a new chapter on November 28th, the birthday of A Man, a Mage, and Two Misfits!

Patton nervously flitted around the house, walking by the front door every so often. Roman and Nova should have come back for lunch about an hour ago, but had yet to return to the house from the theatre. Usually after morning rehearsals, Roman would come home for lunch, and even if he decided to go for lunch with the cast and crew, he made sure to text Patton and let him know. But Roman hadn’t done that or answered any of Patton’s messages or calls.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Patton’s frantic movements stopped. Virgil stumbled in, looking a little battered and cradling Nova in his arms, who seemed to be in even worse shape. Hestia and Zephyr followed after them, and Patton’s heart clenched when he saw that Roman wasn’t with them.

“Virgil-”

“Help me get Nova to the couch. I’ll explain when I’m not on the brink of passing out,” Virgil interrupted, his voice raspy. Patton nodded, reaching out and gingerly taking Nova into his arms.

“Don’ worry… ‘m fine,” Nova mumbled dazedly.

“You will be, kiddo,” Patton murmured. He glanced over at Virgil, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the bruises around Virgil’s neck.

“Yeah, uh… can I use you for support to get to the living room? I’m not really feeling the strongest…” Virgil trailed off, refusing to meet Patton’s gaze.

“Of course, Virge. Grab onto my shoulder, okay?” Patton soothed, keeping his voice calm for Virgil’s sake.

“Okay,” Virgil replied softly, reaching out and putting a hand on Patton’s shoulder. Patton gave him a reassuring smile, and a small one slipped onto Virgil’s face in response.

Slowly but surely, they made their way to the living room, Hestia and Zephyr following behind them. Patton laid Nova down on the couch, and Hestia flew over to her, beginning to cry her golden healing tears. Zephyr flew over as well, nuzzling his mage’s cheek in comfort. Patton looked over at Virgil, and his heart broke at the pure guilt written in Virgil’s features. 

“C’mere, Virgil,” Patton said, holding out his arms for a hug. He hesitated for a moment, but quickly threw himself into Patton’s arms.

“Roman… he’s- he’s gone. He was taken, and it was my fault. It’s all my fault,” Virgil said, voice breaking down into soft sobbing.

“D.O.M.E? They’re back?” Patton gasped. Virgil shook his head, burying his face into the crook of Patton’s neck.

The sound of the door opening again momentarily made Patton freeze, but he relaxed when he saw Logan walk into the living room, followed by a man he didn’t recognize. Logan quickly surveyed the living room, eyes widening when Roman was nowhere to be seen.

“When Virgil left in such a hurry, and then didn’t return for a while, I got worried. Our colleague, Dr. Emile Picani, was concerned as well, and I let him come home with me. Hope you don’t mind,” Logan explained. Dr. Picani waved rather awkwardly at the mention of his name.

“That’s okay. Nice to meet you, Doctor,” Patton said, loosening his hold on Virgil but not letting go quite yet.

“Call me Emile,” he offered. Patton nodded, pulling away slightly to look at Virgil. His eyes were red and puffy, and he scrubbed at them with the palms of his hands.

“Let’s sit down on the couch, okay Virge?” Patton asked softly. Virgil nodded, and Patton gently guided him over and sat down on the other couch. Virgil immediately nuzzled into Patton’s side, and the fatherly werewolf was surprised to see Virgil so vulnerable like this. Emile shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be here… I feel like I’m invading…” he trailed off.

“It’s okay. Thanks for caring,” Virgil mumbled.

“Well of course! You and Logan have been so kind to me,” Emile replied with a smile. Virgil gave a weak smile in return.

“I suppose you guys are wondering what happened,” Virgil said.

“Yeah. I was there and I’m not totally sure what went on,” Nova piped up, now sitting up and looking a bit stronger. Virgil tried to rise to his feet, but Patton gently tugged him back down.

“You should be resting,” Virgil protested, settling back onto the couch stubbornly.

“I feel a lot better, thanks to Hestia,” Nova replied, giving the dragon a pat on the head. Hestia purred, nuzzling into Nova’s hand before flying over to Virgil. 

“I’m okay, Hestia,” Virgil said, trying to push the dragon away. Hestia glared at Virgil, and stubbornly clung to his shoulder. Virgil sighed, and begrudgingly tilted his head to the side so that Hestia could cry her golden tears onto his bruises.

“So Virgil… who was that guy?” Nova asked. Virgil closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. 

“That was Dorian Pravum. He was the vampire who turned me,” Virgil began. “He was the leader of a vampire coven, and when he turned me, I was more or less forced to join them. They weren’t good vampires, to say the least.”

“What did they do?” Logan asked.

“They hunted and killed probably hundreds to thousands of people, human and mythical. And Dorian was obsessed with ‘collecting’ different types of vampires. He would turn mythicals into vampiric versions of their kind… and it didn’t always work out. Sometimes the turning process would be catastrophic for certain types of mythicals… it wasn’t pretty,” Virgil explained.

“That’s horrible,” Nova gasped. Virgil nodded grimly.

“Yeah. So I knew I had to get out. Except for trying to leave a vampire coven is basically a death wish. I managed to get out, to run away and start a new life, but Dorian swore he’d make me regret leaving the coven,” Virgil continued.

“And he took Roman as part of his revenge?” Logan asked.

“Yes. It’s my fault. Hell, even one of my old friends from the coven came to warn me that Dorian was planning something, but I didn’t listen! I didn’t want to leave any of you,” Virgil said, voice trembling as he clung tighter to Patton.

“Hey, don’t talk like that! We’re gonna get Roman back!” Nova exclaimed with determination.

“But how? I don’t even know where Dorian is,” Virgil protested.

“Well, what about your old friend? If they were willing to warn you, they might be able to help us save Roman,” Logan pointed out.

“Maybe, but I don’t know where to find him either. He has a habit of just… showing up,” Virgil replied dejectedly.

“I think I might know someone that could help,” Emile piped up.

“You do?” Patton asked.

“Yeah. I have a friend who keeps tabs on influential mythical groups, maybe they know about your old coven,” Emile suggested.

“It’s as good a shot as any. Thanks,” Virgil nodded.

“Emile, you seem rather unperturbed with all of this information. Are you a mythical yourself?” Logan asked. Emile flushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Uh, yeah! You could say there’s quite a ‘tail’ behind it!” Emile laughed. Patton’s eyes lit up, and Logan frowned after a moment.

“That was a pun, wasn’t it?” he muttered.

“Maaaybe!” he grinned. Patton giggled while Logan groaned, and even Nova and Virgil perked up with small smiles.

“I like you already, Emile!” Patton exclaimed.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’d better go get my friend so that they can help us! Gotta blast!” Emile sang, waving as he walked out of the living room and left the house.

“So… Dorian did this to you?” Logan asked, gesturing at Virgil’s neck and Nova’s fading injuries.

“Well, Dorian attacked me, and my mom attacked Virgil. When I told Hestia and Zephyr to get help, Hestia had found Virgil, while Zephyr got my mom,” Nova explained, a look of guilt crossing her face.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Virgil said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“And it isn’t your fault either,” Nova shot back. Virgil chuckled softly, but his eyes were downcast.

“It isn’t, Virgil. The one to blame here is Dorian,” Patton insisted softly. Virgil made a grumbling sound, burying his face in Patton’s neck.

“Patton’s right. And we’re going to get Roman back,” Logan said firmly.

“Yeah. And maybe this way we can prove to my mom that all mythicals aren’t as bad as she thinks!” Nova exclaimed.

“Maybe. And… thanks guys,” Virgil said, a soft look coming over his face, as he glanced around at the people around him.

“Of course, Virge,” Patton murmured, hugging him tightly. Things may have been grim, but Patton was determined. No one else was going to hurt his family.

* * *

Roman woke up groggily, soreness creeping through his limbs. He was lying on his side, hands bound behind his back. He seemed to be lying on a cold stone floor, and he shivered slightly. The room was dark, and Roman awkwardly pushed himself up into a sitting position as he tried to figure out where he was. Or what had even happened. Last thing he remembered, he was at the theatre with Nova. He vaguely remembered a pair of golden eyes… but that was about it.

Shaking his head, Roman decided to try and summon some light magic. He began to close his eyes and focus, but before he could summon anything, a voice piped up from somewhere next to him.

“I wouldn’t try anything, doll,” they said, and Roman’s head whipped around, trying to find the source of the voice. The sound of a match being struck was heard, and Roman saw a small flame flicker to life to his right, and the flame grew as it was put to a torch on the wall. Roman glanced around, and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a cave of some sort, and a figure wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses leaned on the wall next to the torch. He also held what seemed like an iced coffee drink, but the liquid inside the cup was a murky red.

“And for the record, babes,” the man paused to lower his sunglasses, revealing multicolored eyes that were filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry about this. Virgil was my friend.”

“You know Virgil?” Roman asked.

“Yeah, we were thick as thieves, back in the day. Probably why Dorian isn’t letting me leave. I’m supposed to keep an eye on you, or whatever,” the man shrugged, taking a sip of his “coffee”.

“Who are you? Why am I here?” Roman demanded, glaring at him.

“Name’s Remus Dormio. Call me Remy. Virgil pissed off Dorian ages ago, now Dorian wants revenge… blah blah blah, boring stuff,” Remy replied, walking closer to Roman. Something shadowy moved behind him, and it took Roman a moment to realize that Remy had wings.

“You have wings?!” Roman exclaimed.

“That’s what you’re concerned about? Not the fact that you’re part of a twisted vampire’s revenge plot?” Remy scoffed.

“Twisted? Now Remy, you’re too kind,” a voice, silky but dangerous came from behind Roman. Remy froze, his wings puffing up behind him.

“Uh… hey girl, how’s it hanging?” Remy asked, trying to regain the cool confidence he had before. But his posture was stiff, portraying his evident nervousness.

“Remy, you wouldn’t be trying to cozy up to our guest, now would you?” the voice crooned, and Roman tried his best not to shiver. That voice… he wasn’t sure how, but he knew it.

“Babes. It is so boring down here. What else am I supposed to do?” Remy shot back, fire blazing in his multicolored eyes. But his sassy demeanor quickly melted away as a figure bolted forward and grabbed him roughly by his jacket collar. Roman’s heart leapt in his throat as he recognized the man whose face was now inches from Remy’s. It was the same strange man that had ambushed him in the control booth at the theatre.

“Remy. You are to keep an eye on the mage. No need for chit-chatting. Understood?” the golden-eyed man growled. Remy swallowed nervously, nodding his head. The man seemed satisfied with Remy’s answer, and let go of him. He turned towards Roman, golden eyes glinting with malice.

“Welcome, Roman. My name is Dorian Pravum, I hope you will enjoy your stay,” he said with a malevolent grin, revealing his deadly sharp fangs. Roman’s heart thudded in his chest, but a determined scowl came over his face.

“I swear, if you hurt Virgil-” he growled, but Dorian’s eyes flared, and Roman found himself unable to speak.

“Virgil is the least of your concerns. You should be more worried about yourself,” Dorian taunted. And Roman was sure that his smirk would haunt his very nightmares.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emile returns with his friend, but his friend seems to be familiar with some members of the group already. The planning for Roman's rescue has begun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe it y'all, this fic universe is one year old (on tumblr, at least)! A Man, a Mage, and Two Misfits was originally posted on tumblr on this date, and then a little bit later I added it to AO3 as well! If I get my act together, maybe I'll update on the AO3 birthday as well! But we'll see what happens. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

It was late evening when Logan heard a knock at the door. Nova looked over in the direction of the door warily, and Zephyr nuzzled her cheek in comfort. Logan glanced over at Patton and Virgil, who had fallen asleep on the couch, still holding onto each other. Patton peeked out at Logan blearily, and he leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of Patton’s head. 

“You stay here, I’ll get the door,” Logan said.

“It would be illegal to move anyway, I’ve got a sleeping Virgil clinging to me,” Patton whispered. Logan chuckled, then walked out of the living room. He made his way over to the door, and with slight nervousness skittering beneath his veins, he opened it. Relief flooded his senses when he saw who it was.

“Emile. Good to see you. I’m assuming you brought your friend?” Logan asked. Emile smiled, then stepped to the side, revealing a young man with dark hair and light brown skin standing behind him. He wore a blue tunic and cloak, and his long hair was tied up into a bun on the top of his head. A golden circlet with a blue gem set in it was nestled in his hair as well, and he gave Logan a shy smile in greeting.

“Yup! May we come in?” Emile asked. Logan nodded, and ushered them inside. He led them to the living room, where Virgil seemed to be awake now.

“Emile’s returned, and he brought his friend to help,” Logan explained, upon Virgil’s confused expression.

“Yeah! Everyone, this is-”

“Babe?” Nova asked, shooting up from the couch and looking at the young man in bewilderment. The young man looked surprised for a moment before his face broke into a dazzling grin.

“Nova! I didn’t expect to see you here, angel. Anyway, my name is Ka’aukai Hanalei, and I’m a water mage. And my gender is fluid, ya know, like-”

“Like water, you make this joke every time,” Nova groaned, but an endearing smile danced on her lips.

“Aw, c’mon Nova! They didn’t know I was going to say that!” Ka’aukai laughed.

“You two know each other? And Ka’aukai, I’m Logan. It’s good to meet you. Is it alright if I ask what pronouns you prefer? I’m afraid I assumed you were male upon first meeting you,” Logan asked rather sheepishly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it! My pronouns shift around a lot, but right now he/him works. And if you’re ever unsure, I have a spell on the gemstone in my circlet. It changes colors according to what pronouns I prefer at the time. Right now it’s blue, but it would be pink for she/her, and green for they/them,” he explained.

“Well that’s neat! I’m Patton, and this is Virgil. Nice to meet you, Ka’aukai!” Patton exclaimed.

“Nice to meet you guys too. And yes, Nova and I have known each other for quite some time. While the Hanalei and Silvestri families don’t get along the greatest because of our very different elements, mages have to stick together. And I’d like to stick as close as possible to Nova,” Ka’aukai replied, winking at Nova. She blushed, twirling one of her pigtails nervously.

“You’re such a dork, Ka,” Nova said sheepishly.

“But I’m your dork!” he declared, stepping forward and pulling Nova into his arms. He twirled her about for a moment, until he squeezed a bit too tightly and Nova hissed in pain. He pulled away, eyes wide with alarm.

“You’re hurt,” he gasped, bringing her over to the couch and gently forcing her to sit down next to him.

“Ka’aukai, I’m fine. Just a little bruised,” Nova shrugged. Ka’aukai narrowed his eyes, and looked over at the others.

“Nova was attacked by a vampire named Dorian Pravum. He kidnapped my boyfriend, Roman, and we need your help to find him,” Virgil explained. Ka’aukai’s mouth fell open in horror.

“Pravum did this to you?!” he exclaimed, looking to Nova.

“It was a lot worse before Roman’s familiar, a phoenix dragon, healed me. And you should see him. I burned half of his face,” Nova protested. Ka’aukai smiled for a moment, but his expression grew grim.

“So. What did you do to piss off Pravum?” he asked.

“I left his coven,” Virgil replied, his voice low and eyes downcast.

“How?! I heard that he killed anyone who tried to leave,” he gasped.

“I’m guessing that got implemented after I left, but it wasn’t exactly easy. I tried to sneak away, but Dorian caught up to me and I had to fight him off. I managed to win, but he swore he’d have his revenge. So I ran as far away as I could from there, and laid low for a few decades,” Virgil explained.

“Hmm. And I’m guessing that Dorian found out where you were cause of the D.O.M.E. incident. Word spread fast in the mythical community about a mage, a man, a werewolf, and a vampire that took them down. And there aren’t many vampires that roll solo,” Ka’aukai pointed out. Virgil’s shoulders slumped.

“Hey, now don’t you go blaming yourself again! None of this is your fault, Virgil,” Patton scolded, putting an arm around Virgil.

“Yeah, and besides, I already have a few ideas as to where he might be hiding. The Pravum Coven has been more mobile recently, according to rumors. But they have a few locations in the area where they’ve been particularly active. Plus, they’d have to stick close because A: vampires are lazy despite having super speed, and B: Dorian probably wants to be nearby to taunt you,” Ka’aukai explained. Virgil shot up from his seat, brows furrowed in determination.

“Then let’s go. We have no time to lose,” Virgil declared. Logan put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, pushing him back slightly. A growl grew in the back of Virgil’s throat, and everyone seemed to shrink back from him, except for Logan.

“Virgil. As much as I want to rescue Roman, as I’m sure everyone else does, we need rest and time to make a plan. There is no point in trying to rescue him if we are not adequately prepared,” he reminded him gently.

“Logan, we don’t have time!  _ Roman _ doesn’t have time! Dorian has an obsession with collecting vampires, remember? And don’t you think it would be the icing on top if he turned a Silvestri who just so happens to be my boyfriend?! It’d be like a win-win for him!” Virgil snarled.

“Virgil, we need to think rationally. It will do no good to Roman if we just rush in blindly,” Logan replied, keeping his voice calm.

“Bullshit, Logan. What if it were Patton in Roman’s place? You’d be saying the same things I am right now, and you know it,” Virgil shot back. Logan’s calm demeanor snapped, and he glared at Virgil.

“While it is true that I care deeply for Patton, I would make a plan first. What you are suggesting is incredibly reckless and could end in us all getting killed,” Logan answered evenly. Virgil opened his mouth to say something else, but Patton leapt up and stood between them.

“Virgil, Logan, stop it! This arguing will get us nowhere!” Patton scolded. Logan and Virgil froze, varying looks of guilt on their faces.

“Sorry Patton,” they said in unison, glancing awkwardly at each other before their gazes dropped to the floor.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” Patton replied sternly, but his expression was gentle and filled with soft concern.

“I apologize for being insensitive, Virgil. And for losing my temper a bit,” Logan said, turning to Virgil. The vampire let out a long sigh.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for snapping at you. And growling at you. And being reckless. And just generally being dumb. And-”

“Virgil, stop. You’re stressed and scared, I think it’s safe to say that we all are. Your reaction was perfectly natural,” Logan interrupted, reaching out and gently placing a reassuring hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Logan. And… you’re right. Rushing into this won’t help Roman,” Virgil sighed.

“Yes. Perhaps tomorrow we can set out once we discuss locations with Ka’aukai,” Logan said, casting a glance at the water mage seated on the couch. He nodded, giving Logan a smile. Logan turned back to Virgil, concerned when there was a look of mild panic on his face.

“Wait, what about the school? We can’t just take off again,” Virgil explained upon seeing Logan’s concerned and confused expression.

“Already taken care of it. Ms. Torres was happy to give us time to find Roman,” Emile piped up.

“Emile, you just got your job. You’ve already helped us quite a lot, we couldn’t ask you to do this with us,” Logan said.

“Nonsense! I’m happy to help! Plus, you guys are the legendary misfits that brought down D.O.M.E! I’d have to be crazy to turn down a chance to help you guys,” Emile exclaimed. Patton, Logan, and Virgil exchanged varying glances of surprise.

“Uh, Na’aukai? Are we- are we really… legendary?” Patton asked, laughing nervously.

“Are you kidding? You guys took down a major organization that had its eyes set on eradicating mythicals! Monsters, mythicals, and misfits alike don’t have to live in as much fear as they once did because of you!” he exclaimed.

“Wow. That’s- woah,” Virgil breathed out.

“Aw, that’s so sweet! Man, all this talk of legends and planning is making me hungry! How about I get us some snacks while we figure out what to do?” Patton offered.

“That sounds satisfactory. Would you like some help, Patton?” Logan asked.

“Sure, Logan! The rest of you guys stay here, we’ll be back in a sec with food!” Patton chirped, heading off to the kitchen with Logan trailing behind him. 

“I think some hot chocolate is in order, don’t you?” Patton asked, opening the cupboards and getting some mugs down. Logan watched his boyfriend gather the things needed for hot chocolate, frowning as something seemed off about his cheery disposition.

“Sure. But Patton… are you sure you’re alright?” Logan asked. Patton froze for a fraction of a second, but quickly shook it off and continued busying himself with readying the hot chocolate.

“Of course! Sure, I’m worried about Roman, and poor Virgil and Nova got attacked, but we’re gonna be okay,” Patton replied cheerfully, but Logan didn’t miss the slight tremble in his hands.

“Patton,” Logan said softly. The sound of Logan’s voice, soft and concerned, was enough to make Patton’s cheery disposition melt away. His shoulders slumped, and tears began to well up in his eyes.

“Oh, Patton. Come here, dearest,” Logan said, reaching out for Patton. Patton all but flung himself into Logan’s arms, breaking down into hiccuping sobs.

“I’m just so worried. I hate feeling scared, I hate that Roman got taken, I hate that Virgil has to suffer, I hate that there’s always something threatening to tear apart our family,” Patton babbled, clinging to Logan.

“It is alright to be scared, Patton. No one expects you to be happy all the time,” Logan soothed, holding Patton securely while running a comforting hand through his hair. Patton smushed his face against Logan’s chest, hands gripping at the back of his shirt.

“I know. But I wanna be strong for Virgil,” Patton said, his voice muffled against Logan’s chest. Logan pulled away from Patton slightly so that he could look him in the eyes.

“Patton, you are already so strong. You helped Virgil and Nova when they came home injured. You soothed Virgil’s worries and reminded him that he shouldn’t feel guilty,” Logan pointed out.

“But-”

“This isn’t up for debate, Patton. You are strong,” Logan said firmly. Patton looked conflicted for a moment, cheeks flushing slightly. Then a small smile crept onto his lips, and he pulled Logan into a soft but passionate kiss. Logan made a muffled sound of surprise, but melted into the kiss as he pulled Patton closer.

“Thanks, Logan,” Patton said softly when he pulled away, hands scrubbing at his eyes. Logan smiled fondly, bringing up a hand to brush away Patton’s excess tears.

“You’re welcome, Patton. Now, you said something about hot chocolate?” Logan asked. Patton grinned, and gave Logan another quick peck on the lips before pulling away and continuing to ready the hot chocolate with Logan’s help.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman makes an escape attempt, and Remy reveals his true colors. Meanwhile, Virgil and the others have made a plan, but could Emile be hiding something?

The cave that had become Roman’s prison seemed blissfully empty, minus Remy standing off in the corner. His winged jailer hadn’t said anything to him since Dorian had threatened him just a few moments ago. Or had that happened a while ago? Roman couldn’t be certain of how much time had passed. But either way, Dorian had left and Remy was silent.

Roman shifted uncomfortably in his bonds, glancing warily at Remy. The winged vampire didn’t seem to take notice, seeming far too interested in preening his feathers. Roman glanced around, making sure that there wasn’t anyone else in his immediate vicinity, and summoned a small flame at his fingertip. He carefully maneuvered the flame to burn through the rope binding his wrists together, being sure not to accidentally burn himself. Within minutes, the ropes had been burned through, and Remy seemed none the wiser.

He sprung to his feet, summoning balls of flame in each hand and startling Remy. He ceased his preening, wings flared out and eyes wide behind his sunglasses. Before Remy could say anything, Roman lobbed the fireballs at him, causing him to dart to the side to avoid getting hit. Remy bared his fangs at Roman, and the mage merely smirked and conjured more flames in response.

“Girl, you’re making a mistake,” Remy hissed.

“You’re the one making a mistake. Just let me walk out of here, and your feathers don’t get burned,” Roman threatened.

“Oh honey no. Virgil did NOT tell me he was dating a moron. Ugh, how he got so attached to you and ignored my warning is beyond me, but girl the idea that you’d be able to walk outta here is ridiculous,” Remy drawled, rolling his eyes. Roman let out an incredulous, offended sound, causing the flames to splutter in his hands for a moment.

“Excuse me?!” he cried, glaring at Remy.

“Look gi- Roman. As much as I don’t like what Dorian is doing, this reckless escape plan isn’t the way to go, honey. This whole cave system is filled with nasties from the coven,” Remy pointed out, hands up in a placating gesture. Roman pondered what Remy had said for a moment, then looked to him with a determined expression, brows furrowed and mouth set in a firm line.

“Then help me get out of here,” Roman replied. Remy’s wings drooped, and he shook his head with a sigh.

“Look, I would be totally down to help you. But Dorian has far more power than you think. Trust me, he-” Remy’s voice cut off with a gasp as he locked eyes with something over Roman’s shoulder. 

Roman whirled around, realizing too late that doing so was a mistake. Dorian was inches away from his face, and with him so close, Roman realized that half of his face was scarred over from a burn. His eyes flashed a brighter gold, and in an instant, Roman found himself unable to move. The fire flickered out from his hands, and Dorian stepped back with a pleased grin. He circled around Roman slowly, his piercing eyes traveling over Roman’s body. Had Roman not been immobilized by Dorian’s hypnotism, he was sure he would have shivered under the vampire’s intense gaze.

“You weren’t planning on leaving so soon, were you, Roman?” Dorian purred, his breath against Roman’s ear. He valiantly tried to reply, to hurl obscenities and insults at the vile creature breathing down his neck, but Roman found himself unable to speak.

“Hm? Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t quite hear you,” Dorian taunted, and Roman could feel fangs grazing his neck. A choked gasp escaped his lips, and his body shuddered as he tried to break past the hypnotic paralysis Dorian had placed him in.

“Don’t worry. I won’t turn you… yet. But a vampire does have to eat,” Dorian purred. Hands gripped at Roman’s hips, and he was tugged back against Dorian’s body. He desperately tried to squirm out ot the vampire’s grip, but he found himself still immobile.

Suddenly, Roman could feel fangs sinking into his neck, and he desperately wished he could scream. All he could do was stare ahead of him with fear in his eyes, and silent tears trailing down his face. He felt a strange draining sensation, and he found himself becoming weaker and weaker, spots beginning to dance in his eyes. Roman doubted that even if he had mobility, he wouldn’t have the energy to fight back.

Dorian’s fangs retracted from Roman’s neck after a moment or two, and he felt the vampire lapping up the excess blood that trailed down the side of his neck. Roman flinched away from the sensation, and was surprised that he was able to move again, but felt too woozy to try and escape. Instead, he sagged in Dorian’s hold, liable to pass out at any second.

“Mmm… think I may have gorged myself there a bit. Wasn’t expecting mage blood to be so potent,” Dorian cooed in his ear, and Roman shuddered again. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a terrified whimper as he lost his grip on consciousness, falling limp in Dorian’s arms.

* * *

Remy watched in mute horror as Roman slumped in Dorian’s arms, his eyes closed and breathing shallow. Roman was dropped to the ground rather carelessly, and Remy winced at the thump that sounded when his body hit the ground. Dorian’s gaze flicked up to meet Remy’s, and his face twisted into a cruel and disapproving sneer.

“How could you be so careless?” he snarled. Remy’s wings puffed up behind him, and he resisted the urge to cocoon himself in them and hide from Dorian. Now was not the time. It was about time he faced Dorian head-on.

“This is wrong, Dorian,” Remy said, trying for a growl, but his voice came out as more of a breathy gasp. Dorian merely raised an eyebrow, seeming impassive, but his blazing golden eyes told a different story.

“So. You finally show your true colors. I was hoping your not-so-secret excursions were for coffee, but you were trying to warn Virgil, weren’t you?” Dorian hissed.

“Only because Virgil was right. This sick collecting game you’re playing is wrong. I’m done listening to your lies,” Remy fumed. Dorian threw his head back and laughed, then began to stalk closer to Remy.

“Lies? Remy, when have I ever lied to you?” he taunted. Remy clenched his fists, wings fanning out behind him as he glared at Dorian.

“Oh, I dunno, how ‘bout when you told me that you were turning me for my own good? That being a vampire would make me perfect. Well guess what, babes, I was already perfect,” Remy snarled.

“Oh, look at you, with your self-confidence. I’m so impressed,” Dorian drawled, rolling his eyes. Remy let out a vicious snarl, and launched himself at the other vampire. Dorian easily sidestepped the attack, sending Remy sprawling to the ground. He tried to scramble to his feet, but Dorian had him pinned to the ground in an instant, one hand gripping the back of his neck, while the other gripped the feathers of his right wing cruelly. He gave the feathers a harsh tug, causing Remy to let out a strangled whimper.

“I should kill you… but I think I have a use for you yet. Since you seem so keen on being a messenger bird, why don’t you go get Virgil for me? Tell him to come here two days from now, if he ever wants to see his pathetic mage again,” Dorian growled.

“Why would I do that?” Remy hissed back. Dorian chuckled, gripping his feathers tighter and causing a pained groan to escape clenched teeth.

“You were so eager to help Virgil before, why wouldn’t you help him now? Besides, you’re so good and  _ perfect _ ,” Dorian snarled with a mocking tone, pulling Remy’s wing back with a harsh and sudden tug at the last word. A snap echoed against the cave walls, and Remy let out a pained, animalistic scream. His breath came out in pants and his vision blurred as red-hot agony seared through his right wing.

“Hmm… not so perfect anymore, are you?” Dorian taunted, though Remy had a hard time focusing on his voice. He vaguely felt himself being pulled to his feet, and dragged out of the cave system until they reached the forest outside. It was pouring rain out, and belatedly, Remy tried to wrench himself out of the grip Dorian had on his arm so that he wouldn’t get his feathers soaked. But Dorian shoved him forward, causing Remy to faceplant in the mud.

“Now, go fly, little messenger bird,” Dorian ordered, laughing cruelly before walking back into the cave. Remy gingerly pushed himself up, wiping the mud off of his face. He got to his feet unsteadily, feeling unbalanced with one wing broken. The rain didn’t help either, soaking his feathers and making them feel several pounds heavier. Remy hugged himself slightly, shivering and casting a glance back at the cave. He most certainly couldn’t go back there, so he only had one choice. Forge ahead, and hope that he would get to Virgil in time.

* * *

Virgil laid on his bed, listening to the rain pound on the roof. The bed felt so much emptier without Roman, but at least Hestia had moved her nesting area to Virgil’s bed, so that he didn’t feel quite so alone. Though Virgil had the feeling that she needed his presence as much as he needed hers. In the hours Roman had been missing, Hestia’s demeanor had drastically changed. She was no longer energetic and playful, instead she was downcast and seemed almost sickly. Hestia would occasionally whimper as if in pain, and would curl in on herself. Her scales had dulled considerably, losing their usually glossy sheen, and her warm golden eyes had grown cold.

A curious coo came from the dragon curled at his side. Virgil glanced down, and saw Hestia tiredly peering out from beneath a blanket of Roman’s. He gave her a weak smile, and tenderly stroked her head. She leaned into the touch, nuzzling Virgil’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Hestia. We’re gonna find Roman,” Virgil murmured. Tomorrow they would split up and scope out three locations that Ka’aukai had deemed as the most likely places that Dorian would be hiding out. Logan and Patton would be investigating a spot not too far from the veterinary clinic that Patton worked at. Nova and Ka’aukai would be investigating an area near the lake just outside of Ekeisdale. That left Virgil, Hestia, and Emile to investigate the woods just north of Ekeisdale. If any of them found the coven, they were to contact the others before going in to save Roman. Then once they regrouped, they would get Roman back.

A sudden knocking at the door shook Virgil out of his thoughts. Hestia perked up slightly from her blanket cocoon, and Virgil gave her a comforting pat on the head.

“Yeah?” Virgil called out.

“Hi Virgil, it’s Emile! Can I talk to you for a sec?” came the reply from beyond the door. Virgil sighed, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and climbing out of bed. He walked over to the door, and opened it to see Emile anxiously fiddling with the shells on his bracelet. He gave Virgil a shy smile, hand dropping from his wrist.

“Come in,” Virgil said, gesturing inside. Emile seemed surprised for a moment, then quickly walked in. Virgil closed the door, and sat down on his bed. Emile stood awkwardly for a moment or two, until Virgil gestured to a spot next to him on the bed, silently inviting him to sit down.

“So. What did you wanna talk about?” Virgil asked as Emile sat down.

“Well… I feel strange about going along with you tomorrow. I feel like I’d only be getting in the way… plus this really is a personal issue for you…” Emile explained, trailing off and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Hey, you’ve been a great help already. You brought Ka’aukai here, didn’t you?” Virgil pointed out.

“Yeah, but he ended up knowing Nova! Quite intimately…” Emile muttered. Virgil let out a chuckle at that.

“Yeah, small world, I guess. But it was your idea to bring him here, not Nova’s. And you won’t be a burden tomorrow. I’ll- uh- I’ll be grateful for the company,” Virgil said, giving Emile a small smile.

“Happy to be of service,” Emile replied, smiling back.

“Er… yeah. So how do you and Ka’aukai know each other anyway?” Virgil asked.

“Oh! Well, he’s the one who gave me this bracelet! It’s enchanted to keep me in my human form. Otherwise I’d just be flopping around like Marlin and Dory on the deck,” Emile replied, gesturing to his pink and blue seashell bracelet. 

“So you’re a merman?” Virgil asked. Emile’s face tinged pink for a moment, and he began fiddling with his bracelet again.

“Uh, yeah! I guess you could say that!” Emile answered, grinning nervously. Virgil raised an eyebrow, and even Hestia poked up her head to give Emile a disbelieving stare.

“Um… okay, what is that supposed to-”

“Well I guess I better go and get some rest before tomorrow, you should rest too! Goodnight, Virgil!” Emile exclaimed, cutting Virgil off and darting out of the room before he could say anything else. Hestia cast a confused glance over to Virgil, and he gave her a reassuring pat on the head.

“Well, whatever that was, we’ve got bigger things to worry about. And he was right, we should be resting,” Virgil said, laying down and snuggling into the blankets. Hestia pouted, but curled up against Virgil, tugging Roman’s blanket back around her. And with swirling worries flowing through his head, Virgil fell into a fitful sleep.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The misfits set out to rescue Roman... and discover someone along the way.

The next morning had come both too soon and not soon enough. Virgil felt like he had gotten barely any sleep, and groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. He changed into a t-shirt and black jeans, then tugged on a hoodie, burying his hands into the pockets. He glanced over to the bed, frowning when Hestia hadn’t stirred yet. 

“Hestia?” he called out, mildly alarmed when she didn’t even chirp in response. Virgil walked over to the bed, blood freezing in his veins when he saw that Hestia was lying almost  _ deathly _ still.

“Nononono… Hestia, don’t do this to me, c’mon please,” Virgil gasped, reaching down and scooping the phoenix dragon into his arms. She stirred slightly, and he nearly sobbed in relief when Hestia’s eyes opened blearily. She clawed at Virgil’s hoodie, letting out little whimpering coos. 

“What’s wrong?” Virgil asked, gently stroking the top of her head. Hestia purred slightly at the touch, but it broke off into pained whimpers… it sounded almost like crying to Virgil. 

Pulling Hestia close against his chest, Virgil made his way downstairs. The others were in the living room, Nova and Ka’aukai seated on one couch, Patton and Emile on the other while Logan paced back and forth in front of them.

“Virgil? Is something wrong?” Logan asked, halting his pacing once he saw Virgil’s worried expression.

“It’s Hestia… I think something’s wrong with her,” he explained, shifting the dragon in his arms so that the others could see. Nova and Ka’aukai jumped up from the couch, and quickly made their way over to Virgil. They peered at Hestia, then exchanged nervous glances.

“Well… it could be close to her burning cycle?” Nova offered, but Ka’aukai shook his- no, their head. The gem in their circlet shone green today.

“She’s awfully small for it to be her burning cycle,” they said, frowning.

“Wait, burning cycle?” Virgil asked.

“Hestia’s a phoenix dragon. She’ll grow for a bit, then when she reaches her full size, she’ll burst into the flames. Then from the ashes, a baby Hestia will come out,” Nova explained.

“Aw, I wanna see a baby Hestia!” Patton exclaimed.

“I think we already have seen Hestia as a baby, remember how small she was when Roman found her? And she has grown considerably since then. Roman mentioned something about her growing to the size of a cat before she would burst into flames, and while her current size is closer to a kitten size, wouldn’t it be reasonable to guess that she’s nearing her burning cycle?” Logan asked. Ka’aukai shook their head sadly.

“I wish I could say that, Logan. But I’ve seen this before in other familiars. Either she’s been away from Roman for too long, or something has happened to him,”  they explained.

“Then we have no time to lose. We all know the plan, right?” Virgil asked, his gaze shifting over the mythicals and human in the room.

“Logan and I investigate the overgrown, abandoned park by the vet’s,” Patton replied.

“Nova and I go to the lake outside of Ekeisdale,” Ka’aukai answered.

“And we go to the woods north of Ekeisdale,” Emile finished. Virgil nodded, satisfied with everyone’s answer.

“And if we find evidence of the coven, we call everyone else and wait to regroup before doing anything,” Logan added, leveling Virgil with a stern glare.

“Let’s go find Roman,” Virgil replied with a sharp nod.

* * *

Virgil and Emile trekked through the woods, mud squelching beneath their feet. It had rained all through the night, and the air itself seemed damp. Virgil glanced around, nervousness skittering beneath his veins. He both wanted and didn’t want the coven to be hiding in the woods. His heart ached for Roman, but could he really face the coven again?

Hestia let out a disgruntled roar from Virgil’s hood. Virgil chuckled, reaching back and awkwardly patting what he hoped was Hestia’s head. He had moved Hestia to his hood so that he could have his hands free, but she didn’t seem so happy with the placement. Virgil would have expected her to make more of a fuss about it, but with her current state, the most she could manage was an annoyed sound every now and then.

“I know you don’t like the hood. But I don’t know how else to keep you safe,” Virgil soothed. Hestia let out another disgruntled sound, and Virgil could feel her burrowing down into his hood.

“So… what exactly are we looking for?” Emile piped up. Virgil sighed, and glanced at the trees around him.

“Uh… well, not to get morbid… but uh… corpses,” Virgil muttered nervously. Emile let out a choked sound of surprise, coming to a stop behind Virgil.

“Virgil, you were mumbling a bit so I dunno if I heard this wrong… but did you say  _ corpses _ ?” Emile squeaked. Virgil swallowed nervously, and turned to face Emile.

“Well… yeah. Not necessarily human though, it could be animals. The coven needs to feed, so corpses with strange bite marks would be a surefire sign that they’re here,” Virgil explained. 

“Yeah… I guess that makes-” Emile was cut off by the sound of rustling coming from somewhere behind him. They both froze, and the rustling was heard again, but closer. Emile slowly turned around, staring into the shadows.

A figure suddenly stumbled out into the open, and Virgil nearly leapt forward to attack them until he saw who it was. His hair and clothes were streaked with mud, his sunglasses were nowhere to be found, and his right wing was bent at an odd angle, but Virgil knew without a doubt that it was Remy.

“Remy? What happened to you?” Virgil asked.

“Wha? ‘M fine, don’ worryyy,” Remy slurred, then promptly pitched forward. Emile rushed forward and caught him before his face hit the ground.

“Virgil, you know this guy?” Emile asked, looking down at the man currently in his arms. Remy looked up dazedly, before giving a lopsided smirk to Emile.

“Viiirrrrgil. You didn’t tell me you were bringing a snacc,” Remy said, voice still slurring slightly.

“Remy. Emile is a friend. You are NOT feeding from him,” Virgil growled, fully prepared to take on his clearly pain-delirious former friend.

“Nonononono. Not thaaaat kinda snack. Snacc, with a double c,” Remy replied, giggling slightly.

“Virgil, whoever this guy is, he’s hot,” Emile frowned, putting the back of his hand to Remy’s forehead.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Remy said, attempting to wink but failing miserably.

“Not like that! I think you’ve got a fever,” Emile clarified, blushing slightly.

“He must have been out in the rain all night… Remy, is the coven hiding out near here?” Virgil asked, crouching down next to Emile and Remy.

“Hmm? Oh yeah! I was suppos’ta get you. But Dorian broke my wing. Jerk,” he whined, sounding quite like a child, but the heartbreak and pain written in Remy’s expression was absolutely heart-wrenching.

“Dorian did this to you? Shit… hold on, we might be able to help,” Virgil said, reaching back into his hood and pulling Hestia out. She cast a sad glance over to Remy’s broken wing, then looked back at Virgil with a guilty and heartbroken expression. She began to make whimpering sounds, crying but no tears falling.

“No, don’t cry, that was too much to expect of you. We’ll find another way to help Remy, you just rest,” Virgil soothed, depositing the dragon back into his hood.

“Ka’aukai might be able to help, water mages are particularly good with healing magic,” Emile piped up.

“Good idea. I’ve gotta call them anyway,” Virgil replied. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and calling the others while Emile murmured soothing words to Remy, running a hand through the winged vampire’s hair.

A few moments later, Nova and Ka’aukai poofed into existence with Logan and Patton in tow. Patton let out a sharp gasp when he saw Remy, hands flying to his mouth. Logan raised an eyebrow, and turned to Virgil with a mildly confused expression.

“Is that your old friend, Virgil?” Logan asked.

“Yeah. That’s Remy,” Virgil replied.

“His poor wing! Makes me think of a raven we nursed back to health at the vet clinic a while back. Poor little guy got whacked by a branch in a storm,” Patton said, a sympathetic expression coming over his face.

“I think I’d be able to heal him… but that wing needs to be set first. Patton, do you think you’d be able to do that?” Ka’aukai asked, glancing warily at Remy’s broken wing, then turning to Patton with a curious gaze.

“I think so! It’ll hurt him a bit though…” Patton trailed off.

“It’s the only way he’ll be able to heal. Emile, do you think you can hold him still while Patton sets his wing?” they asked. Emile nodded, shifting Remy into a more comfortable position on the ground. Patton kneeled down beside Emile and Remy, hands hovering over Remy’s wing for a moment.

“This is gonna hurt, sorry kiddo,” Patton said, before placing his hands on Remy’s wing.

“Girl, pretty sure I’m a lot older than you. Can’t exactly call me kid- AUGH!” Remy’s sentence was cut off with a shout of pain as Patton set his wing with one sudden movement.

“Sorry! Figured it would be best to do it while you were distracted, so that you wouldn’t tense up too much. And I call everyone kiddo,” Patton replied sheepishly. Remy made a vague sound of understanding, his weight slumping more heavily into Emile’s arms.

Ka’aukai closed their eyes and began to mutter something under their breath, causing droplets of water seemed to draw towards them from the damp forest. The droplets connected and became a smooth stream, twisting and swirling elegantly around them. They opened their eyes, which had begun to glow a soothing blue, and the water flowed towards Remy, gently encircling his wing. The water started to glow as well, and it seeped into Remy’s wing, causing the vampire to let out a surprised gasp. After a few moments, the water had been fully absorbed by Remy’s wing. He shifted into more of a kneeling position, hesitantly stretching out his wing, then folding it back in.

“Girl, my wing feels good as new! Now, would you be able to do something about this killer headache I have right now?” Remy asked, rising to his feet and turning to look at Ka’aukai. However, the water mage was swaying on their feet slightly. The glow faded from their eyes, and their knees buckled in an instant. Nova was immediately at their side, arm wrapping around their waist to keep them upright.

“Ka’aukai?! Babe, talk to me,” Nova demanded, worry lacing her words.

“M’fine. Just took a lot outta me,” they replied weakly.

“Well, if you need to hang back while we rescue Roman-”

“No. I came here to help, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Ka’aukai interrupted, straightening up with a slight wince. Nova seemed like she wanted to argue, but kept her mouth shut. 

“Well, if you’re sure…” Virgil trailed off.

“I am. The Pravum Coven has terrorized mythicals and humans alike for far too long,” they replied fiercely. Virgil nodded firmly, then turned his gaze to Remy.

“You can take us to where Dorian is hiding out, right?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah, but we can’t exactly waltz up to the mouth of the cave. That would be playing right into that snake’s hands,” Remy answered, mouth set in a grim frown.

“What about another entrance?” Logan asked. Remy pondered this for a moment, but his eyes soon lit up, and he snapped his fingers in realization.

“There is another entrance! There’s a small river that flows right into the cave, but I’m not sure how we’d-”

“Hey, you’re flying with a water mage! I’ll get us in, just lead us to where the river goes into the cave,” Ka’aukai exclaimed with a grin.

“But Ka, your magic-”

“Will be fine. I just need a little time to recharge, and a walk through the woods is the perfect way to do it,” they said reassuringly, rubbing Nova’s arm. She still seemed a little unsure, but conceded with a sigh.

“Fine. I don’t like it, but fine,” Nova huffed.

“Besides, if things really go south, we do have Emile,” Ka’aukai said, gesturing at the purple-haired man. All eyes turned to him, and Emile’s face flushed at the sudden attention.

“Yeah… cause you’re a merman, right?” Virgil asked. Ka’aukai broke off into laughter.

“Oh no, he’s much better than that. He’s a-”

“Not important! I’m sure Ka’aukai’s magic will be just fine, let’s go save Roman!” Emile interrupted, causing Ka’aukai to raise an eyebrow.

“Right. Well, we don’t have time to worry about that right now, cause he is right. We need to stop waiting around and go save Roman,” Virgil said, looking to Remy.

“Follow me, babes! We’ve got a mage to save and vampires to overthrow!” Remy exclaimed, heading deeper into the forest, the others following close behind.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They venture into the cave, and face the coven.

Logan eyed the winged vampire sauntering in front of them warily. He wasn’t sure if they could trust him, and sure, he had warned Virgil and had clearly defied Dorian, hence the broken wing, but there was just something… off about Remy Dormio. Logan couldn’t quite place what it was, but there was just something about Remy that rubbed him the wrong way. He was exuberant, obnoxious, and-

“So tell me, doll, how’d you end up with a group like this? A pretty face like yours doesn’t really fit in with this crowd,” Remy cooed, winking at Patton. Ah yes, that was what bothered Logan. Remy was a tremendous flirt.

“Aw, well that’s sweet, but I’m actually a werewolf! And before you ask, my wonderful boyfriend is more than a human with a pretty face, he’s super smart, too!” Patton replied, and Logan swore he could hear a hint of passive-aggressiveness as well as something almost protective in his tone. Which only caused a tremendous flush to take over his face. Remy, on the other hand, seemed very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“Oh… cool. So our ‘Rescuing Roman Squad’ has two vampires, two mages, a werewolf, a human, and a mystery mer-babe,” Remy commented. An indignant squeak came from Virgil’s hood, and Remy rolled his eyes.

“Right, how could I forget the sickly dragon. Yeahhhh, I’m just loving our odds right now,” he huffed.

“No one is making you help us, Rem,” Virgil growled.

“Girl, two things. One: you don’t know how to get to the river entrance. And two: that jerk broke my wing, no way in hell am I letting him get away with that,” Remy shot back.

“Those are two very good points, Remy! We do need your help, and it isn’t right what Dorian did to you. But I think if we keep on chattering like a barrel of monkeys, we’re gonna call the attention of the coven,” Emile pointed out. Remy thankfully clammed up, with what seemed to be a slight blush over his cheeks.

* * *

Eventually, after what seemed like ages to Virgil, they reached the river entrance to the cave. The seven of them were unusually silent, each one of them bracing for what lied ahead. A coven of vampires, ones that both Virgil and Remy had betrayed. And of course Roman, who, dare he think it, might just be his beloved.

Beloveds were an interesting part of a vampire’s life. Each vampire had someone out there who was linked to their soul, and they were destined to be with that person for all time. Which, in Virgil’s opinion, was far too long to be with one person. At least, that’s what he had thought before he had started dating Roman. Because there was something real, something tangible with him. And just in the short time Roman had been held captive, Virgil found himself becoming unraveled without him. Which only seemed to further prove the idea of Roman being his beloved… but what if Roman didn’t feel the same deep connection that Virgil seemed to feel?

“Virgil, we ready to go?” Ka’aukai asked, shaking Virgil out of his thoughts. He glanced over to see them crouched by the riverside, hands hovering over the water. The others were watching Virgil with concerned expressions.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Virgil replied. Ka’aukai gave a firm nod, then turned their attention to the water. A ripple broke out over the water, like someone had dropped a stone into the river. The ripple grew outward, becoming more of a wave and leaving a shallow area in the water. Ka’aukai stepped into the shallow area, seemingly walking on the water. Virgil and the others followed suit, and found that they were able to stand on the water in the shallow area as well. The wave of water formed over them, creating a bubble-like enclosure around them. They descended down into the cave, and soon resurfaced in a small pool of water on the other side. They all clambered out into the cave, surprised to find no one waiting for them.

“Shouldn’t there be a guard or something?” Virgil asked, frowning.

“Maybe Dorian wouldn’t expect someone coming from the river?” Emile suggested.

“No, something’s fishy here. And it isn’t you, honey,” Remy replied, eyeing the cave warily. Patton suddenly shivered, a growl involuntarily slipping past his lips. They all looked over to him with alarm.

“S-something’s definitely- urgh- definitely here,” Patton said, his voice a half-growl. He seemed to have grown more animalistic in the few seconds they had been in the cave, his ears, teeth, and fingernails becoming pointed.

“Patton, what’s going on?” Logan asked, worry evident in his tone. He put a hand on Patton’s arm, becoming more alarmed when it didn’t seem to lessen the animalistic traits.

“Happens. When werewolves are in close proximity… wolf traits tend to become more prominent,” he answered from between gritted teeth.

“Because your body instinctively thinks it needs to fight for dominance,” Logan gasped in realization.

“And the wolf wants to protect its pack,” Patton added, hugging himself tightly, as if physically holding himself would stop the transformation.

“Rem, Dorian wouldn’t have happened to turn a werewolf, would he?” Virgil asked. The winged vampire sighed, hands gesturing uselessly.

“Maybe? I dunno, the dude has an issue, it’s hard to keep track,” he replied.

“In any case, something is definitely here,” Logan said, one hand still gently holding Patton’s arm.

Patton’s head suddenly snapped to the side, and he pushed Logan behind him as he growled at something in the shadows. A figure with wolf-like characteristics and deadly sharp fangs stepped forward, snarling at Patton. Then, one by one, more figures stepped out of the shadows, some of them seeming human, and some of them having more mythical qualities. Most notable was a woman with dead gray eyes, stringy black hair, and pale skin with a sickly green tinge. She shambled forward with a vicious, murderous grin over her face, her fangs yellowed and bloodstained.

“So, the prodigal son returns,” she snarled.

“Still Dorian’s pet, Stephanie?” Virgil shot back.

“At least pets are loyal,” she replied, shooting a glare at Remy. His wings puffed up behind him, and he shot Stephanie a glare of his own.

“What are you? You’re definitely not a normal vampire,” Nova blurted. Virgil resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sigh. It was almost painful how similar Nova and Roman acted sometimes.

“I was Dorian’s first monster transformation. I once was just a mere zombie, but now I am so much more powerful,” Stephanie answered proudly.

“Explains why you look like such a trainwreck,” Nova muttered.

“Enough talk!” Stephanie snarled, lunging at Nova. Ka’aukai was in front of her in an instant, summoning a wave of water to shield them both. The other vampires in the cave were stirred into action, the werewolf vampire going straight for Patton and Logan. Patton leapt at them, clawing and snarling, his eyes turning to the piercing yellow of a wolf’s.

However, with Patton distracted, two vampires managed to corner Logan, staring at him hungrily. One of them had the pointed ears of an elf, while the other seemed to be initially human. The elf vampire barreled forward, but Logan dodged at the last second, causing her to crash to the ground. Logan smirked at his small victory, but then the other vampire successfully tackled him to the ground. He let out a shout of surprise, struggling in the vampire’s grip and causing Patton’s attention to shift over to him.

“No!” Patton cried out, trying to run to Logan’s aid, but got pulled back by the werewolf vampire. Virgil’s head perked up at the sound of Patton’s voice, and his eyes widened at Logan’s predicament, but he was surrounded by a cluster of vampires and couldn’t get through. Remy was in a similar situation as Virgil, and Nova, Ka’aukai, and Emile were huddled together, Ka’aukai’s waves the only thing keeping the vampires at bay.

“What are you waiting for? Incapacitate the human, but don’t turn him. That honor belongs to Dorian,” Stephanie commanded. The vampire holding Logan down smirked, and he latched on to his neck in one quick, fluid movement. Logan screamed, fingers clawing at the cave floor and his eyes blown wide.

“Logan!” Patton sobbed, trying to squirm away from the tight grip the werewolf vampire had on him. Virgil let out an angered cry, trying to shoot forward and help Logan, but he was tugged back by the other vampires harshly. Emile watched the worsening events with fear, glancing down at his shell bracelet, then glancing over at Ka’aukai.

“Ka, be ready to shield the others,” Emile murmured gravely.

“Em, are you sure?” they asked, eyes wide.

“This is our only hope,” he replied firmly. Ka’aukai nodded, beginning to mutter something under their breath. Taking a deep breath, Emile yanked off his bracelet.

A sudden blinding light came from Emile, and the vampires stumbled back in surprise, shielding their eyes. The light faded away, and Emile was no longer standing. Instead, he laid on the ground, his legs having turned into a beautiful tail with shimmering pale pink and blue gradient scales. The scales traveled further up his back, but became more and more scattered among incredibly pale skin. However, the farther up Virgil’s gaze went, the more horrifying Emile became. His fingers were webbed, with sharp claws at the end of each finger. His ears were more like fins, their coloring matching his scales. Sharp teeth were crowded into his mouth, and his eyes were a soulless pitch black.

Emile began to sing, his voice mournful yet soothing. The song wasn’t in a language Virgil recognized, but the words somehow seemed enticing, inviting Virgil to listen and come closer. It was then that Virgil realized what Emile was, and why he was so anxious about it.

“He’s a siren,” Virgil gasped.

“He’s beautiful,” Remy murmured. Virgil turned towards him, breaking free of the now entranced vampires so that he could give Remy a confused and incredulous stare.

“Dude, look at his face. Those dark eyes and sharp teeth?” Virgil pointed out. Remy frowned in confusion.

“But… I just see him,” he replied.

A wave of water suddenly came over, taking out the vampires around Remy and Virgil. Ka’aukai followed after it, coming to a stop beside Remy. They frowned, looking at him with concern. Their eyes glowed blue for a split second, then faded.

“That’s strange. For some reason my anti-siren spell didn’t work on you, unless…” they trailed off, a smirk coming to their face.

“Unless what?” Virgil asked. Ka’aukai chuckled and shook their head.

“No time to worry about that now, Remy and Emile will have to work that out on their own,” they said. Virgil’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t have time to question what Ka’aukai said as Nova walked over to them.

“The rest of the vampires are taken down, and Patton’s checking up on Logan,” Nova said. Virgil’s gaze swiveled over to where Patton was kneeling beside Logan, and he sprinted over in an instant.

“How is he?” Virgil asked, crouching down on the other side of Logan.

“Feeling a little woozy, but I’ll manage,” Logan replied weakly, trying to sit up. However, Patton put a hand on his chest before he could get any further.

“Lo, you’re not really in any shape to be getting up and walking around!” he protested, tears glistening in his eyes. Logan reached up and gently brushing away a runaway tear on Patton’s cheek. The action caused a hiccuping sob to wrench its way from Patton’s throat, and he turned his face to press a kiss to Logan’s palm.

“Patton, I’m alright. I’ve certainly had worse,” Logan insisted.

“But he is right, you’re in no condition to move,” Virgil pointed out, his voice becoming a bit of a stern growl.

“Then he can stay here! I’ll protect him while you guys find Roman,” Emile offered, baring his teeth in what Virgil guessed was supposed to be a smile.

“I’m not leaving his side,” Patton shot back fiercely, his voice practically a snarl.

“Then we both can!” Emile quickly amended.

“I’ll stay here too. My magic works better when I’m by the water anyhow,” Ka’aukai chimed in.

“And you’re dangerously close to overexerting yourself,” Nova scolded, but there was a fond warmth in her eyes.

“I don’t know if I like the idea of us splitting up like this, but I’m not sure if we have much of a choice,” Virgil sighed.

“Well, the good news is that most of the coven was the welcoming party,” Remy said, glancing at the downed vampires around him.

“Which means we mainly have to worry about Dorian,” Virgil said darkly.

“Three on one, four if you count Hestia. I’m liking our odds,” Nova smirked.

“Don’t get cocky, love. Be careful,” Ka’aukai murmured, pulling Nova close to them and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“You too,” she replied, pulling them down into a fierce kiss. Virgil averted his eyes from the pair, and instead looked to Patton and Logan. Patton pulled Virgil into a hug, being careful of Logan in the middle.

“Bring Roman home,” Patton murmured.

“I will,” Virgil said, pulling out of the hug. He stood up, exchanging glances with Remy and Nova. They nodded, and with that, the three of them (plus Hestia in Virgil’s hood) ventured deeper into the cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The zombie vampire Stephanie was created by @broadwaytheanimatedseries on Tumblr! They also are going to have a fic that takes place in this universe after Retribution has ended!


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Logan are concerned about the others, Ka'aukai runs off, and a certain vampire and mage finally reunite. But they are far from safe.

Patton watched the trio go deeper into the cave, and tried to calm his racing heart as he held Logan close to him. He could have lost Logan. From what the zombie vampire had said, they had wanted Logan alive for some reason, but what if they hadn’t? They could have killed him, even turned him. And Patton would have been powerless to stop it.

A thumb gently brushing his cheek tore him from his thoughts. Patton looked down to see a pair of deep blue eyes peering up at him, calculating yet soft. A tear rolled down his cheek, and a slightly hysterical laugh tore its way through Patton’s throat. Logan gave him a gentle smile, brushing the tear away.

“I’m fine, Patton,” he murmured.

“But you almost weren’t,” Patton replied, voice trembling. More tears spilled down his cheeks, and Logan’s other hand came up to wipe them away before he gently cupped his face.

“It doesn’t do us well to dwell on what could have happened. We need to focus on the now,” Logan said softly. Patton gave him a trembling smile, and sniffled slightly.

“I know, Logan… I just-” Logan cuts him off by surging up and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“I’m scared too,” he murmurs when he pulls away. Patton responds by pulling him into a passionate kiss that was still just as soft and loving as the first one. When Patton pulls away, Logan is grinning with a light flush over his cheeks.

“What?” Patton asked.

“I just love you. And you still look a little wolfish,” Logan replied, blue eyes glinting with amusement and adoration.

“I do?!” Patton gasped, one hand flying up to his ear, which was indeed pointed slightly. He noticed that his hair was a little scruffy as well, and he ran his tongue over his teeth to discover that he had sharp canines. He pulled his hand away from his head to inspect it, and saw that his fingernails were more claw-like.

“Don’t worry, you still look adorable as ever,” Logan soothed, smiling softly. Patton felt heat creeping into his cheeks, and he let out a surprised giggle.

“Aww, you guys are make me think of Stevonnie! Or maybe Ruby and Sapphire,” a voice piped up. Patton glanced over his shoulder to see Emile, still in siren form, grinning at them. His words caused Patton to flush deeper, while Logan’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“I’m sorry, what?” Logan asked.

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you to say! But no spoilers! I wanna get Logan to watch Steven Universe with me sometime,” Patton exclaimed.

“Oh of course! It’s just that your dynamic is classic Stevonnie. One of them has a big heart and can be on the silly side, while the other is a rational and calm individual,” Emile replied, dark eyes alight with excitement. Logan gave him a small smile, then shifted his gaze over to Ka’aukai, who was looking out into the darkness with a worried expression on their face.

“You’re worried about Nova,” Logan stated. Ka’aukai nodded, their hands fidgeting with their cloak. 

“Yeah. She’s just so free-spirited and impulsive… I just- if something happens to her… I- I don’t, I’m not sure if-” their voice cut off, and they wrapped their arms around themself tightly.

“Yes?” Emile asked gently.

“I’m not sure if I’m strong enough,” they replied in a hushed voice. 

“I see. Well, if anyone’s Ruby and Sapphire, it sounds like it would be you and Nova. Without spoiling too much, it’s very hard for the two of them to be apart. And even if they are apart, they always find each other again. You’re a lot like Sapphire- wise, compassionate, and strong. You’ll be with your Ruby again,” Emile said firmly.

“I… admittedly didn’t understand much of that, but thanks Emile,” Ka’aukai replied softly, wiping at their eyes.Something poked its head out of their cloak, and they gave it a reassuring pat.

“Is that your familiar?” Patton asked. Ka’aukai nodded and turned towards him, sweeping their cloak to the side. There was what seemed to be a bubble of water floating at their side, and a creature of some sort was curled up inside. It had iridescent black scales, and green eyes peered out at them warily. It poked its head up, and Patton gasped in delight.

“A kitty?!” he squealed.

“Technically a mercat, but yes. Her name is Namaka,” Ka’aukai explained. At the sound of her name, Namaka poked her head out of the bubble and gently headbutted Ka’aukai’s side, purring slightly. Now that she was no longer curled up, Patton could see that she had the front half of a cat, except she was smooth and hairless, and she had webbed paws. Namaka’s back half was an elegant fishtail, and it swished playfully in the water bubble.

“She’s so cute!” Patton squealed. Ka’aukai let out a light laugh, scratching Namaka’s ears.

“Yeah, she-” they were cut off by the sound of a scream echoing through the cave. Ka’aukai’s eyes widened in fear, and Namaka nuzzled their side, sensing her mage’s distress.

“Nova,” they gasped, and ran deeper into the cave before anyone could say anything. Logan and Patton exchanged nervous glances, and Emile seemed frozen in shock.

“Patton, help me up,” Logan demanded.

“But Logan-”

“We can’t let Ka’aukai go alone,” Logan replied firmly, rising to his feet despite Patton’s attempts to keep him stationary. He immediately stumbled to one side, grasping Patton’s arm as he groaned.

“Lo, you’ve lost a lot of blood. You’d be more of a hindrance than a help in this state,” Patton pointed out, wrapping an arm around his waist to help keep him upright.

“But I despise feeling useless. There must be something we can do!” Logan protested.

“I know, honey,” Patton murmured with a soft smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“And besides, we are doing something! Making sure that if these vampires wake up, they don’t help Dorian!” Emile chimed in. Logan pondered the siren’s words for a moment, then sighed.

“I suppose that is true. But I don’t like not knowing what’s happening.”

“I guess all we can do is wait,” Patton said with a frown, eyes trained on where Ka’aukai had darted away.

* * *

A wisp of light hovered in Nova’s hand, casting shadows on the cave walls. Remy led them through the cave, drawing ever closer to where Dorian was keeping Roman, and where Dorian was surely waiting for them. None of them said anything, but the tension seemed almost tangible between the three of them.

A few steps later, Hestia’s head suddenly snapped up from Virgil’s hood. She let out a gasping roar and shot up from his hood. Hestia zoomed forward into the cave before anyone could say anything.

“Hestia, wait!” Virgil cried out, a bit too late. Virgil ran after the runaway dragon, Nova and Remy following close after him. Hestia flew out into a large cavern, with a single figure slumped over in the center of the room. Virgil’s heart stuttered in his chest when he realized who it was. He was pale, and his signature red jacket was stained and rumpled, but it was, without a doubt, Roman. 

“Roman!” Virgil cried out, rushing forward without hesitation. He fell to his knees beside him, gently taking his face into his hands. Roman’s warm brown eyes were glazed over slightly, but they sparked with recognition when he saw Virgil.

“Virge…” Roman gasped. Virgil surged forward, pressing his lips to Roman’s, and thousands of emotions seemed to travel between the two in a mere moment. He couldn’t focus on anything but Roman. The feeling of his fluttering pulse beneath his fingertips, the taste of his lips, so familiar yet so foreign- it was like rain in a scorching desert.

A sudden scream forced the two apart, and Virgil leapt up, shielding Roman with his arm. Dorian stood a few feet away from them, one arm wrapped around Nova and pinning her arms to her sides, while the other hand forced her head at an angle, exposing her neck to him. Remy was crouched on the ground, wings puffed up and his fangs bared at Dorian.

“Get your hands off my sister!” Roman growled, trying to shove past Virgil, but stumbled slightly. Virgil caught him, one arm curled around his waist protectively, while he placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“Virgil. How good of you to come,” Dorian crooned, his voice deep and rich. His golden eyes glinted with malice and slight amusement.

“Let her go, Dorian. It’s me you want,” Virgil pleaded.

“I will get my retribution… but this one burned me,” he snarled, fangs glinting as he spoke. Nova squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp, but her eyes flashed with fierce determination.

“You had it coming,” she spat. Dorian hissed in anger, and moved as if to bite her, but a white ball of fluff flew from within her cloak and attached itself to his face. He let out a shout of surprise, dropping Nova and stumbling back. She quickly scrambled to her feet and sent a blast of wind magic at Dorian, causing him to fly into the cave wall. Zephyr flew back to perch on Nova’s shoulder, and she stroked his fur in thanks.

Dorian was on his feet in an instant, golden eyes glaring daggers at Nova. She glared back at him just as fiercely, if not more. Dorian had taken half a step forward, but halted when Virgil let out a ferocious growl. He raised an eyebrow at Virgil, turning to face him.

“Let her go, let them all go. It’s me you want, they have nothing to do with this,” Virgil pleaded. Dorian chuckled harshly in response.

“Oh Virgil, but they do. You let yourself become a part of their little ‘family’, when the only family you needed was the one you abandoned,” he snarled.

“What, you mean the coven? Your coven wasn’t family. Family is where you feel loved. Where you feel like you’re a part of something. All your coven did was make me feel scared of saying or doing something wrong. And that the only reason I was there was because I was a soldier for your collection. I didn’t feel like I had any value beyond that. But with family, a real family, I finally feel like I have value,” Virgil declared, staring down Dorian fiercely. He merely raised an eyebrow in response and his lips were pressed in a firm line. Dorian raised his hands, and Virgil tensed, holding Roman tighter. The golden-eyed vampire simply began clapping, a cruel and vengeful smile creeping its way onto his lips.

“Truly, an inspiring speech. So moving,” Dorian drawled.

“Oh come on, you hateful, self-absorbed, slimey son of a-” Nova’s sentence was cut off by Dorian leaping at her, snarling. He pinned her to the ground, and before Virgil or anyone else could rush to her aid, Dorian’s fangs sank into her neck. Nova let out a heart-wrenching scream, causing Roman to scramble out of Virgil’s arms and rush forward, only to stumble and fall to his knees with a groan. Remy lunged forward and tackled Dorian off of Nova, and Virgil took the opportunity to rush to Roman’s side.

“Roman, are you okay?!” Virgil asked, and he realized with a start that it was the first real thing he said to him since finding him in the cave.

“I’m fine. But Nova-” he stopped abruptly, clapping a hand over his mouth as he choked back a sob.

“It’s okay, she’ll be okay,” Virgil comforted, although he wasn’t certain if the words were true. Nova was lying- dare he think it-  _ deathly  _ still on the floor a few feet away from Roman and Virgil. Roman shakily tried to stand up, before his knees gave out again. Virgil quickly swept him up into his arms, and carried him over and deposited him at Nova’s side.

“Have you always been this strong?” Roman asked in a hushed voice, eyes wide with surprise. Virgil smiled wryly, then turned his attention to Nova.

In all honesty, she looked like death. Her face was ghostly pale, nearly matching her platinum blonde hair. The only bit of color on her was the blood trailing from the bite mark on her neck. She was breathing- barely- and when Virgil put his fingers to her wrist, her pulse was sporadic. Virgil frowned. Dorian had drank from her for only a few seconds. She shouldn’t have been in such a bad state, unless…

A sudden cry of pain snapped Virgil out of his thoughts, and his head shot up to see Dorian pinning Remy to the ground with a knee to his chest, and a hand around his neck. He had his wing pinned down with his boot, and Remy’s hands scrambled and scratched at Dorian’s arm, but the other vampire didn’t let up.

“I should have broken both of your wings, traitor,” Dorian snarled, grinding his boot into Remy’s wing for emphasis. Virgil shot to his feet, but before he could do anything, a massive torrent of water burst in, throwing Dorian off of Remy and into the cave wall. The water cleared, and in its place stood Ka’aukai, eyes glowing blue as they glared down at Dorian.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Closer, closer, the end draws near... but not quite yet, I'm afraid.

The cave fell silent for a few moments. Ka’aukai loomed over Dorian, eyes glowing dangerously and magic simmering in the air. Dorian stared up at Ka’aukai with mild surprise and shock. That expression lasted only a few seconds, before it shifted into an irritated scowl.

“How many pathetic mages do you have?” he muttered in disgust. Ka’aukai narrowed their eyes, and pulled Dorian up by the shirt collar to meet their gaze.

“Do you even know who you’re dealing with?” they growled. Dorian gave them a quick look over, then met their gaze again and smirked.

“Hmm, let’s see… dark-haired water mage? Probably a Hanalei. I’m surprised someone from that family would associate with rabble like these,” he scoffed. Ka’aukai grit their teeth, pulling Dorian closer so that their noses were practically touching.

“Listen here, Pravum. Not every Hanalei is a self-righteous, elitist-” their voice suddenly cut off as Dorian’s eyes flashed. Their grip on him fell slack, and Dorian rose to his feet easily. He brushed himself off, a smug look upon his face.

“That’s better. Water mages are rather chatty, aren’t they?” Dorian crooned. Ka’aukai slowly turned to face the others, and Virgil’s stomach dropped when he saw that their eyes were glowing gold.

“Dorian, please-”

“I think you’ve done enough of your pleading, Virgil. Hanalei, be a dear and take care of that pathetic excuse of a vampire,” Dorian interrupted, flicking his wrist at Virgil dismissively. Ka’aukai raised their hand slowly, like a puppet on a string, and water swirled around them. 

However, before they could do anything more, something shot out from their cloak, biting at their wrist. It seemed to be a cat, but its lower half was a fishtail. Virgil vaguely wondered if that was Ka’aukai’s familiar, but he had more pressing matters to worry about.

“Ka’aukai, listen to me, I know you’re in there! You can’t let Dorian control you,” Virgil shouted. They didn’t respond, instead dislodging the cat-like creature with a flick of the wrist. The creature went flying, crashing to the floor with a pained mewl. Zephyr, who had been nuzzling Nova’s cheek with concern, flew up from his position at his mage’s side and landed beside the cat creature. He nudged the creature, and it weakly raised its head, rubbing its nose against Zephyr’s.

“I’m afraid Ka’aukai isn’t in the mood for talking,” Dorian said, something akin to boredom in his tone as he examined his gloved hand. Ka’aukai raised their hand once more, and the water flowing around them shot at Virgil. The water pushed him backwards and away from Roman and the others. It covered his mouth and crept into his nostrils, causing Virgil to choke and claw at his face, trying to get the water away. Of course, this did nothing, and Virgil soon fell to his knees, vision darkening around the edges.

Suddenly, the water fell away, and Virgil slumped over, coughing and spluttering. Someone ran a comforting hand down his back, and it took him longer than it should have to realize it was Roman. He clutched at his boyfriend’s jacket as he caught his breath, then looked up. Ka’aukai was sprawled on the ground, weakly trying to crawl over to Nova. Virgil tensed briefly, but relief flooded through him when he saw that their eyes were back to their normal deep brown shade.

“You see, that’s the problem with mages. They have so much power, but not enough strength to use it,” Dorian crooned, striding over to Ka’aukai and delivering a swift kick to their abdomen. They groaned in pain, curling in on themself. Virgil tried to rise to his feet, but Roman held him tight, eyes filled with a mixture of concern and fear.

“But if a mage had superhuman strength and endurance… just imagine the possibilities,” Dorian continued, smirking down at Nova.

“You monster,” Virgil spat. Dorian threw his head back and laughed, then looked back to Virgil with a somewhat smug expression.

“Oh Virgil, we’re all monsters here. I’m just a monster with a vision,” he said, his voice smooth and almost lyrical.

“What did you do to her?!” Ka’aukai demanded, pushing themself up on their elbows to glare up at Dorian.

“I’ve made her better. She’ll be perfect now,” he replied, crouching down to brush aside a stray strand of hair from Nova’s eyes.

“Don’t you touch her!” they snarled.

“You mortals are like irritable, overtired children. Isn’t it about naptime for you?” Dorian sighed, eyes flashing a brighter shade of gold. The same gold shimmered in Ka’aukai’s eyes for a moment before they fluttered closed, their body slumping to the ground. Virgil grit his teeth, standing up despite Roman’s concern. Enough was enough.

“Dorian,” Virgil growled.

“Virgil.”

“If I rejoin the coven, do whatever you say, will you let them go?” Virgil asked, and Roman let out a harsh gasp beside him.

“Virgil no, you can’t- I won’t let you!” Roman protested.

“Roman, I have to. He’ll kill you… or worse. I’m sorry, Beloved,” Virgil murmured, the pet name slipping from his lips unbidden. But when he said it, called Roman his Beloved… it was like something snapped into place. Roman seemed to notice it too, but before either of them could say anything more, Dorian broke into roaring laughter.

“First you think that you can just come back to the coven, then you believe that this mage is your Beloved?” Dorian laughed, mock wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

“Virgil… what is he talking about?” Roman asked in a hushed whisper. Virgil’s face burned, and he refused to meet his gaze. 

“Yes Virgil… what am I talking about?” Dorian taunted.

“I…” Virgil trailed off, face flushing deeper.

“What are you so afraid of, Virgil?” Dorian crooned, eyes glowing a bright gold.

“Why would I want to be stuck with someone like you for eternity?” Roman’s voice came from beside him. Virgil’s blood ran cold. It was Roman’s voice… but at the same time it wasn’t. Where was the passion? The energy?

“I mean, look at what’s happened because of you. My sister, her partner, your old friend Remy, and the ones you called family are all hurting, and it’s your fault,” he continued, his voice still lacking its usual emotion. Virgil knew it wasn’t really Roman talking. It was Dorian. However Virgil couldn’t bring himself to look at Roman and confirm his suspicion. Because there was a niggling fear that maybe, just maybe, Dorian wasn’t controlling him. That Roman really did think those things about Virgil. And who could blame him? He was right. This was Virgil’s fault.

“No…” a voice rasped from off to the side. Virgil’s head shot up, and he saw Remy struggling to his feet. He looked incredibly battered and weak, but his rainbow-kaleidoscope eyes shone with determination.

“I thought I took care of you,” Dorian scowled.

“Girl, it takes a lot more than almost breaking my wing again to take me down,” Remy snarled back.

“Rem…” Virgil trailed off, unsure of what to say. Should he apologize? Tell him to go away? Insist that he shouldn’t hurt himself on Virgil’s behalf?

“Virgil, look at him.” His brow furrowed in confusion as he fixed Remy with a bewildered stare.

“What-”

“Roman. Look at him,” Remy insisted. Virgil turned to glance at his boyfriend, and that’s when something inside him snapped. Roman’s face was slack, eyes glowing gold like Dorian’s. He spun around to face Dorian, silver eyes blazing.

“Enough,” he spat.

“Oh, now there’s that soldier spunk I was missing. It’s such a shame that you ended up being a defective addition to my collection,” Dorian hummed with what seemed to be disinterest.

That was the final straw. Virgil snarled, launching himself at Dorian. It was steely silver eyes staring down glittering gold ones as fists and limbs flew with nothing but pure unadulterated anger. It was fangs snapping as each vampire wrestled to get the upper hand. Dorian managed to pin down Virgil, but he shoved him off with a knee to the abdomen that sent the golden-eyed vampire flying. Virgil was back on him in an instant, fists landing blow after blow. Because he knew if he didn’t subdue Dorian now, all he would do is hurt his family again. And Virgil let that thought consume him, as he couldn’t stop, not even as his knuckles began to split.

A soothing note echoed through the room, and only then did Virgil stop. One hand was gripping at Dorian’s collar, the other held in a fist above his head. Virgil, despite everything Dorian did to him, felt nausea and guilt roll through him as he saw his face mottled with bruises and blood trailing from his nose and the corner of his lip. Funny- he wasn’t even aware vampires could bleed. He glanced at his fist with morbid fascination as blood trailed from his knuckles, unsure if it was his or Dorian’s. But there was one thing he knew for sure- vampire blood was far darker than mortal blood.

A hand was on Virgil’s shoulder, and he jumped at the contact. He looked over to see that it was only Logan, and he sighed in relief. Patton stood just behind Logan, eyes swimming with emotion. Remy was a few feet away from Patton and Logan, holding Emile in his arms princess-style. Emile was still in siren form, and it dawned on Virgil that he was the source of the soothing note that he had heard. Roman stood next to Remy, and Virgil’s heart twisted painfully at his wide-eyed, horror stricken expression.

“I-”

“It’s alright, Virgil,” Logan soothed, gently easing him away from Dorian’s limp form. Logan reached into his pocket, pulling out a pair of handcuffs and snapping them around Dorian’s wrists.

“They’re made of silver. I kept them from D.O.M.E.” he explained when he saw Virgil’s confused expression. Virgil nodded numbly, still shocked at what he had done. Not that Dorian didn’t deserve what he had coming to him… but did that make Virgil as bad as him?

A set of arms wrapping around Virgil snapped him out of his thoughts. Patton murmured words of comfort into his ear as he held him close against his chest. Virgil brought his trembling hands up to return the hug, and he quietly sobbed into Patton’s embrace.

“It’s okay, kiddo. It’s all over now,” Patton soothed. Virgil nodded as he pulled away from him. Patton gave him a soft smile in return, brushing tears from Virgil’s eyes. He looked over to see Roman standing a few feet behind Patton, eyes wide and hands fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket. Virgil rose to his feet, one hand shakily reaching out towards him. His heart froze momentarily when Roman flinched, but the mage took a steadying breath, and stepped closer to Virgil, step by agonizing step. His hands gently smoothed over Virgil’s, magic gently shimmering over them and cleaning his hands of all grime and blood.

“I think we have a lot to talk about,” Roman murmured, before Virgil could protest against him using his magic.

“Yeah… are you alright?” Virgil asked, silver eyes meeting Roman’s brown ones.

“I’m a little shaken, but I’ll be okay. How are you faring?” Roman asked, gently squeezing Virgil’s hands.

“I’m fine, I’m just glad you’re okay,” Virgil replied, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Roman’s cheek.

“I hate to break up the moment, but I think we require your assistance, Virgil,” Logan’s voice piped up. Virgil broke his gaze away from Roman, to where Logan was knelt beside Nova. Remy stood behind Logan, Emile still in his arms, and Patton was helping Ka’aukai up, who was impatiently scrambling to get to their girlfriend.

“Nova?” Roman gasped, rushing to his sister’s side. Virgil followed after, heart clenching fearfully. If what Dorian implied was true… there wouldn’t be anything he could do to stop it.

“Is she okay?! What’s happening?!” Ka’aukai exclaimed, voice trembling as they and Patton made their way over. Virgil didn’t reply, instead kneeling beside Nova and placing two fingers to her neck. Her pulse was incredibly slow, and Virgil frowned.

“Is she?” Roman asked in a hushed voice.

“She’s alive, but-” Virgil’s sentence cut off when Nova’s body suddenly spasmed.

“Nova!” Ka’aukai cried, trying to reach towards her, but was stopped by Virgil’s hand at their chest.

“Everyone, get back, NOW!” Virgil ordered.

“What? But-”

“She’s going to be confused and disoriented when she wakes up, so for your own safety, back away!” Virgil snapped, cutting Ka’aukai off before they could protest more. Everyone exchanged nervous glances, but did as Virgil said.

Suddenly, Nova set bolt upright, gasping for air and trembling violently. Virgil placed his hands on her shoulders, steadying her. Her hands clawed at Virgil’s arms, and when her gaze snapped up to meet his, his heart sank. Her eyes were a blazing, glowing magenta. 


End file.
